MLB stadiums

[snakespeare]

yep, and the owner isn't helping matters. He got the city council to OK the money to convert the old dogtrack where the baseball team has played on and off for the last 50 years, into a soccer stadium, and had no place for the baseball team to go. Then he couldn't get anyone to build a triple A stadium. Then he announced there would be no renovations to the old site if there was no place for the baseball team. Then the city concillor who was most gung ho for soccer got pissed at the owner, so they had to bring in the ex-Mayor to get everyone back to the negotiating table.

But we still have a triple A team that is the highest level farm team of the worst team in baseball, playing in a place that was never meant for baseball, and no place to go after this year.

Trouble is, the commissioner of Triple A has said he will do whatever he can to keep the team in Portland, and the team is actually being subsidized by the league because nobody else seems to want it.

But I don't care. I've got two 12-packs of tix for me and my wife and we'll get more this year, too. We love them Beavos, and I love history, so that means I can enjoy the history of them after they leave, if they leave.

I've tried to argue with all the whackos who post comments on our local newspapers articles, but I had to give up because they are only interested in hearing their own voices. I live near a place called Lents Park (where the city leagues play), where they also tried to get it built, and I would have been able to walk to games, but some jerks went to the meeting and shouted everyone down, and basically put an end to civil discourse. I don't know how we are supposed to have a democracy when these people don't care about the rules of order. But it's a symptom of the times, I guess. Just when we need people to be nicer to each other, they get meaner. Oh well.

 

[Squiggy]

...and it looks like Dolphin Stadium changed its name AGAIN. What the hell is wrong with these people? Linky

They want money.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ Most teams pick ONE damn sponsor and stick with it.

Besides, don't most naming rights deals last years? I find it hard to believe that Land Shark only wanted their name on the place for a year (possibly less).

Good news for the Rays' new ballpark, though... They're still working on it.

 

[SmoothieX]

...and it looks like Dolphin Stadium changed its name AGAIN. What the hell is wrong with these people? Linky

They want money.

I always found it kinda odd that the Dolphins played in a stadium named for a spoof on one of their predators.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I always found it kinda odd that the Dolphins played in a stadium named for a spoof on one of their predators.

And for an old SNL sketch...

"Candygram."

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Okay, another thing. You Sox fans feel free to chime in on this one. I'm watching Game 6 of the 1975 World Series right now. It was of course played at Fenway. But I see that the upper deck and press box aren't there. When were those added?

 

[Finn]

Over fifty years....

 

[Scout101]

Okay, another thing. You Sox fans feel free to chime in on this one. I'm watching Game 6 of the 1975 World Series right now. It was of course played at Fenway. But I see that the upper deck and press box aren't there. When were those added?

The press box in Left Field was added for the 1999 All Star game. It was then converted into a luxury box until it was removed a couple years ago (2006ish, maybe?). Not sure which part of the upper deck you're talking about, but they've been slowly changing that for a long time, including the last rennovation in 2008 i believe, which added the CocaCola corner. Monster Seats were added in 2003, I think.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ The box I was talking about was the one directly behind home plate. The one with the 'FENWAY PARK' sign on it. That wasn't there in the '75 game I saw.

 

[Finn]

It was there.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ Really? I could have sworn it (and the entire upper deck) wasn't there.

Edit: I'm watching that game again right now. There's a good shot at about 24 minutes in. There *is* an upper deck, but the giant press box - or whatever the hell it is, it's the big thing with the huge FENWAY PARK sign on it - is most definitely not there.

Also, what little upper deck there is, does not go all the way down the left field line (i.e. in the direction of the Monster).

So what I'm wondering is when those things were added.

Scout... "left field"? Like I said, the big box (with the big sign) is centered behind home plate. At least it looks like it is.

 

[Scout101]

All I can respond to is what you type, not what you mean to type. You talked about upper deck and press boxes, thought you meant the stuff that used to be in left field, above the grandstand seating. That was added for the 1999 all-star game, and then left up until 2005-ish. Monster seats came in around 2003, i think?

Now that I know you're talking about the section behind the home plate grandstand, the center of the park, I'm going to have to check. Thought that part had been there a VERY long time. They've changed it around (was open-air, then glassed-in .406 club, then back to open air), but thought the big facade, with the Fenway Park logo and flags, was original, or added when the 2nd level went on.

Looking things up, all i can see so far is that that section was enlarged and enclosed in glass a/c in 1975, right after the game you watched, basically.

Edit: Ok, not original, as it's a pretty ghetto, minor-league looking stadium in the 1913 photo I saw. Tough finding photos of the facade, rather than people sitting there looking out over the rest of the field. Way easier to see the monster, or center field, etc. Smaller version of it (expanded press box) in the 1930s photos.

1946 maybe?

 

[Scout101]

1988 looks like the last big addition in that area, resulting in the current full facade. That was when they finished mucking with the rest of that area, and i see bitching about changing wind currents through the park in that timeframe, so maybe that was the last bit of that addition?

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ I'll check the next time that Roger Clemens game comes on MLB Network (the one where he breaks the strikeout record). That was in '86, AFAIK.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Okay, I saw that game. There's more of the upper deck, but the big center section is still not there. Apparently it was part of the '88 additions (two years after the game was played).

And on an unrelated matter: Not much left of the old Yankee Stadium. About all that's left is the upper deck. The entire outfield wall is now gone... linky

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Bump: Watching the first game at Target Field. Man, this place looks AWESOME! I can't wait to see it for myself. I'm happy for all you Twins fans who are excited about outdoor baseball again!

 

[Pegaritaville]

I was a little worried that it would rain on the first game at Target Field and get people whining about the need for a roof, but the rain moved out just in time. The ball park looks great- can't wait to see the place in person.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

That food sure looked delicious as well.

Good riddance to the Metrodome. (And good luck to the Vikings, who want out of there too)

I wonder if that kid who caught Denard Span's homerun ended up giving it back? They said there was a team rep hanging around trying to coax the kid into it. If so, they better pay the kid well...

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Okay, next question:

At the Oakland Coliseum, when they switch from baseball (A's) to football (Raiders), they turn out a bunch of extra seats in the west side (where the outfield would be, in baseball configuration). Where do those seats come from? Do they just slide into and out of the stadium wall, like you get in a HS gym, or do the workers have to manually haul them out of storage?

Wikipedia has a picture of the west side of the stadium in football configuration. It's seamless - I can't tell where the baseball seats end and the football ones begin. (Here is basically the same portion of the stadium, but this time in baseball mode.)

(damn, I hope the A's get their new ballpark...Coliseum's outlived its usefulness...let the bloody Raiders have it!)

 

[D Man]

I was a little worried that it would rain on the first game at Target Field and get people whining about the need for a roof, but the rain moved out just in time. The ball park looks great- can't wait to see the place in person.

Yeah, it was kinda neat to watch that first game on TV. I'm not a big baseball guy, but I enjoy the "state spirit" kind of thing that goes along with the new stadium. My friends and I really want to check out a game at Target Field, half because it's new and different, and half just because it'd be Fun to see "our" team at their new home. Oh, and half because we want to ride the Northstar train, which we haven't done yet.