Stadium/Arena Saga Omnibus

[McCall]

56 minutes ago, B-Rich said:

 

"If you build it, they will come"

 

Places this worked:

1. Indianapolis (Hoosier/RCA Dome)

2. Orlando (Orlando/Amway Arena)

3. St. Petersburg (Suncoast Dome/Tropicana Field)

4. St. Louis (TransWorld/ Edward Jones Dome)

5. Memphis (kinda/sorta, with The Pyramid as a temporary home, but  they had to agree to build the FedEx Forum to actually get a team).

6. New Orleans (New Orleans Arena/Smoothie King Center)

7. Oklahoma City (Ford Center/Chesapeake Energy Arena)

 

Places this didn't work:

1. San Antonio (Alamodome - never got an NFL franchise)

2.  Kansas City (Sprint/T-Mobile Center - hasn't got an NBA or NHL franchise yet)

It worked in Las Vegas with T-Mobile Arena.

 

And although it hasn't landed a major league-level team yet, the T-Mobile Center in KC has done very well without a major tennant.

[TBGKon]

50 minutes ago, LMU said:

Lost in the double city plan...

 

Free agents who signed in Tampa probably factored in the lack of state income tax.  Good luck telling them that they're suddenly going to be handed a hefty bill from the Canadian Revenue Agency every year.

I never thought about this until now, this will be a big point of contention for players.

[B-Rich]

2 hours ago, SFGiants58 said:

 

Don't forget Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Minnesota!

Good point.  Updated and added.

 

1 hour ago, McCall said:

It worked in Las Vegas with T-Mobile Arena.

 

And although it hasn't landed a major league-level team yet, the T-Mobile Center in KC has done very well without a major tennant.

Las Vegas is another good one I forgot. Updated and added to the list.

 

I have heard the same about T-Mobile  Center doing so well in terms of concerts and events that they aren't really LOOKING for a major league tenant, but especially in light of the last year and a half  of the COVID situation I wonder how well they are really doing, and still think they would LOVE a big league hockey or b-ball franchise there... maybe the  Kansas City Tornadoes or Kansas City Twisters?

 

2 hours ago, Camden Crazy said:

Probably have to add Quebec City’s new arena to the list as well.

Hmm... didn't realize  it has been there since 2015.  Good point.  Updating/added  that to list #2. 

[Crabcake]

6 hours ago, GhostOfNormMacdonald said:

The acquisition of Florida puts John Quincy Adams solidly in the bottom 5 presidents

I don't know if it'll be in my signature, or my member title, but I have to find a way to immortalize this post.

[GDAWG]

9 hours ago, GhostOfNormMacdonald said:

The acquisition of Florida puts John Quincy Adams solidly in the bottom 5 presidents

 

He wasn't already?

[spartacat_12]

23 hours ago, B-Rich said:

 

"If you build it, they will come"

 

Places this worked:

1. Minnesota (Metropolitan Stadium)

2. Indianapolis (Hoosier/RCA Dome)

3. Orlando (Orlando/Amway Arena)

4. St. Petersburg (Suncoast Dome/Tropicana Field)

5. St. Louis (TransWorld/ Edward Jones Dome)

6. Memphis (kinda/sorta, with The Pyramid as a temporary home, but  they had to agree to build the FedEx Forum to actually get a team).

7. New Orleans (New Orleans Arena/Smoothie King Center)

8. Oklahoma City (Ford Center/Chesapeake Energy Arena)

9. Las Vegas (T-Mobile Arena)

 

Places this didn't work:

1. San Antonio (Alamodome - never got an NFL franchise)

2.  Kansas City (Sprint/T-Mobile Center - hasn't got an NBA or NHL franchise yet)

3. Quebec City (Videotron Centre)

 

It also worked for Winnipeg getting the Jets back. Canada Life Centre was built for the AHL, but they made sure it was made to NHL standards just in case they got the chance to bring in another team.

[OnWis97]

Was Milwaukee County Stadium built for the Braves or was it more of a Metropolitan Stadium situation?

[The_Admiral]

It was built to attract a baseball team and to accommodate the Packers, who I think were playing their Milwaukee games at State Fair Park prior to that. 

[Red Comet]

On 10/18/2021 at 5:01 PM, B-Rich said:

I have heard the same about T-Mobile  Center doing so well in terms of concerts and events that they aren't really LOOKING for a major league tenant, but especially in light of the last year and a half  of the COVID situation I wonder how well they are really doing, and still think they would LOVE a big league hockey or b-ball franchise there... maybe the  Kansas City Tornadoes or Kansas City Twisters? 

Chief of Kansas City Patrick Mahomes wants an NBA team here. As for the name, my personal view of any tornado-themed name for a KC-based team is that it’s as lazy as a team that formerly had a Native mascot choosing a bird of prey as a new name.

[GDAWG]

 

[Gothamite]

On 10/18/2021 at 3:10 PM, B-Rich said:

 

"If you build it, they will come"

 

Places this worked:

1. Minnesota (Metropolitan Stadium)

2. Indianapolis (Hoosier/RCA Dome)

3. Orlando (Orlando/Amway Arena)

4. St. Petersburg (Suncoast Dome/Tropicana Field)

5. St. Louis (TransWorld/ Edward Jones Dome)

6. Memphis (kinda/sorta, with The Pyramid as a temporary home, but  they had to agree to build the FedEx Forum to actually get a team).

7. New Orleans (New Orleans Arena/Smoothie King Center)

8. Oklahoma City (Ford Center/Chesapeake Energy Arena)

9. Las Vegas (T-Mobile Arena)

 

Places this didn't work:

1. San Antonio (Alamodome - never got an NFL franchise)

2.  Kansas City (Sprint/T-Mobile Center - hasn't got an NBA or NHL franchise yet)

3. Quebec City (Videotron Centre)

you forgot Milwaukee - the OG.

[Gothamite]

On 10/19/2021 at 3:30 PM, OnWis97 said:

Was Milwaukee County Stadium built for the Braves or was it more of a Metropolitan Stadium situation?

 

On 10/19/2021 at 5:24 PM, the admiral said:

It was built to attract a baseball team and to accommodate the Packers, who I think were playing their Milwaukee games at State Fair Park prior to that. 

It was built jointly for the old American Association Brewers and to attract a major league franchise.  Some thought it might be the Braves, since they owned the Brewers and with it the territory, but the Browns also tried to move in before Bill Veeck sold them and they were Baltimore bound.

 

Packers were an afterthought at best.  But then again, so was the NFL in the early 1950s. 

[GDAWG]

The A's are much closer to a stadium solution than the Rays at this point.  

 

The year is 2031.  At this time, the A's had been in Las Vegas since 2024.  Meanwhile the Rays are still playing in the Trop after signing a year-by-year lease after their lease expired in 2027.  Their plans to split their season in Montreal has been constantly derailed by the MLBPA not wanting their players to split half a year in each city.    At this time, MLB becomes restless and angry because the Rays Stadium situation are the reason they have not expanded to 32 teams and are the only major league without 32 teams as both NBA and MLS have gone to 32 by that time.  

[SFGiants58]

Yeah, GDAWG, keep pounding that dead horse. 

[McCall]

Rays will be playing anywhere other than the Trop by 2028. My money's still on Nashville with Montreal being a decoy, but that's just my personal prediction. Regardless, they'll have something planned somewhere, whether in or out of the area, in time to get the hell out the first chance they get.

[BBTV]

8 hours ago, GDAWG said:

The A's are much closer to a stadium solution than the Rays at this point.  

 

The year is 2031.  At this time, the A's had been in Las Vegas since 2024.  Meanwhile the Rays are still playing in the Trop after signing a year-by-year lease after their lease expired in 2027.  Their plans to split their season in Montreal has been constantly derailed by the MLBPA not wanting their players to split half a year in each city.    At this time, MLB becomes restless and angry because the Rays Stadium situation are the reason they have not expanded to 32 teams and are the only major league without 32 teams as both NBA and MLS have gone to 32 by that time.  

 

THe number one thing the PA cares about is $, and if the team can show that splitting time will increase revenue and lead to higher payroll, it would be malpractice to hold them back.  They could also work out some kind of "inconvenience tax" or some insignificant bonus that they pay the players at the time of each move.  Just enough so that the PA can say that they "won".

[leopard88]

On 10/18/2021 at 3:10 PM, B-Rich said:

 

"If you build it, they will come"

 

Places this worked:

1. Minnesota (Metropolitan Stadium)

2. Indianapolis (Hoosier/RCA Dome)

3. Orlando (Orlando/Amway Arena)

4. St. Petersburg (Suncoast Dome/Tropicana Field)

5. St. Louis (TransWorld/ Edward Jones Dome)

6. Memphis (kinda/sorta, with The Pyramid as a temporary home, but  they had to agree to build the FedEx Forum to actually get a team).

7. New Orleans (New Orleans Arena/Smoothie King Center)

8. Oklahoma City (Ford Center/Chesapeake Energy Arena)

9. Las Vegas (T-Mobile Arena)

 

Places this didn't work:

1. San Antonio (Alamodome - never got an NFL franchise)

2.  Kansas City (Sprint/T-Mobile Center - hasn't got an NBA or NHL franchise yet)

3. Quebec City (Videotron Centre)

 

I assume your standard for this is that the stadium was actually built before a team committed to moving.  The plans were in place for M&T Bank Stadium for if/when a team signed on the dotted line, whether by expansion or relocation.  However, the stadium was not built until after the team agreed to move.

[B-Rich]

 

On 10/19/2021 at 2:30 PM, OnWis97 said:

Was Milwaukee County Stadium built for the Braves or was it more of a Metropolitan Stadium situation?

On 10/19/2021 at 4:24 PM, the admiral said:

It was built to attract a baseball team and to accommodate the Packers, who I think were playing their Milwaukee games at State Fair Park prior to that. 

15 hours ago, Gothamite said:

you forgot Milwaukee - the OG.

15 hours ago, Gothamite said:

It was built jointly for the old American Association Brewers and to attract a major league franchise.  Some thought it might be the Braves, since they owned the Brewers and with it the territory, but the Browns also tried to move in before Bill Veeck sold them and they were Baltimore bound.

 

Packers were an afterthought at best.  But then again, so was the NFL in the early 1950s. 

 

Yeah, Milwaukee County Stadium is kind of a fine line there.   

 

I mean, it WAS meant to attract an MLB team, BUT it had an existing tenant ( two, if you count the Packers).  I was originally including those building constructed purely on spec, with no solid guarantee of a tenant. 

 

Then again, not sure how the Alamodome  fits into that standard, because while it was clearly built to lure an NFL franchise, it was used as a ready-made home for the Spurs when it opened in 1993.

 

So...

 and have added County Stadium to the list.

 

1 hour ago, leopard88 said:

 

I assume your standard for this is that the stadium was actually built before a team committed to moving.  The plans were in place for M&T Bank Stadium for if/when a team signed on the dotted line, whether by expansion or relocation.  However, the stadium was not built until after the team agreed to move.

 

Correct.  Built on spec.

 

[leopard88]

1 minute ago, B-Rich said:

Yeah, Milwaukee County Stadium is kind of a fine line there.   

 

I mean, it WAS meant to attract an MLB team, BUT it had an existing tenant ( two, if you count the Packers).  I was originally including those building constructed purely on spec, with no solid guarantee of a tenant. 

 

 

This is similar to Memorial Stadium in Baltimore.

 

The transition from Municipal Stadium came in two stages.  The first phase began in 1949-50 with the intent of a building a single deck horseshoe  to house the AAFC Colts and attract an MLB team.  Since that didn't work, construction on the second deck began in mid-1953 with the new Colts ready to debut but no MLB team lined up.  The move of the (baseball) Browns wasn't finalized until that fall.

 

The description of the process on Wiki is interesting, particularly with regard to the initial transition (i.e., playing in the stadium while building parts of one stadium and still using parts of the old one). 

 

Quote

Spurred by the Orioles' success, and also by the new presence of professional football, the City chose to rebuild the stadium as a facility of "major league caliber", which they renamed Memorial Stadium in honor of the thousands of the city's dead of the recently concluded World War II. Baltimore mayor Thomas L.J. D'Alesandro, Jr. championed the new stadium project and overcame various legal and political hurdles which delayed progress on the project.

 

The initial plan called for a single, horseshoe-shaped deck to be built, with the open end facing north, and was designed to host football as well as baseball. It was engineered with enough strength to eventually support a second deck and a roof.

The lower deck reconstruction began in the spring/early summer of 1949 and was done in stages, first at the previously open south end of the stadium, and slowly obliterating the old Municipal Stadium stands, even as the International League Orioles continued playing on their makeshift diamond, along with the new Baltimore Colts of the former All-America Football Conference merged with the reorganized National Football League.

 

The old seating at the north end was retained for the pro and college football seasons that fall. By year's end, the horseshoe was sufficiently completed to allow the baseball infield to be relocated from the northwest corner of the field to the south end, and the Orioles opened the 1950 season at the newly oriented diamond. Construction continued on the single deck, until finally all the remnants of the old stadium were gone. The new facility could seat around 31,000.

 

With realistic rumors circulating of a return to the major leagues, the second deck construction was begun during the summer of 1953. First, two groups of sections were built facing the 50 yard line. Then they were extended toward the south end, completing the upper deck horseshoe. Additional plans to fully enclose the stadium and add a roof to the upper tier were never implemented, although an extra upper deck section would be added on each side in 1964.

 

Work accelerated in November 1953 when the St. Louis Browns of the American League were announced to be moving to Baltimore to become the new major league version of the Baltimore Orioles, to begin play in April 1954, the city's first major league franchise in over 50 years (not counting the Federal League experiment). The total cost of the multi-phase project was $6.5 million.

 

The expanded stadium was still under construction as of opening day in 1954, with the new entrance plaza and the new outfield lighting not yet completed. Work was finally done by late spring/early summer, the crowning touch being the large memorial plaque over the entrance.

 

A half-and-half photo from Phase One --

 

 

The second deck under construction with the Colts playing --

[tBBP]

I don't have pics, but you might can add what was originally Nashville Arena, now known as Bridgestone Arena, to the list. It was finished in '96 as a multi-use entertainment facility (with an obvious eye on attracting pro sports); in '98 the Predators moved in. 

 

May fit your criteria...