How long do you think the current wave of baseball stadiums will last?

[tBBP]

Well, the exurban McMansion thing is basically that the land is cheaper and some people like to have lots of space so they don't have to see their neighbors or even their own family members. Not my cup of tea, I find the whole thing cold and alienating, but I get why it works for some people. Living at Citizens Bank Park doesn't seem worth the invariably astronomical cost. What do you do for the other six months that there's not baseball around you, and when there is, don't your sports synapses get a little fried? Like church and state, we need separation of sports and life.

The reasons you gave would be exactly why I wouldn't be buying a ballpark condo, even if I could afford one. But this isn't necessarily about the logistics... it's about whether or not the Phillies (or whoever) could find however many people who who are either foaming-at-the-mouth fanatics that would pay a premium to literally live at the park or just weirdos with money who'd spend it for the novelty of owning one of the condos. From a completely outside POV, my money would have to say "yes."

I could see this working in Pittsburgh--well, at least Heinz Field, anyway. Steelers fans would go for it. (This is the same fanbase of which some will spend thirteen dollars on a toothbrush just because it has a Steelers logo on it.) The way that city is now, some people already live seemingly right next to either Heinz Field & PNC Park as is, as anyone who's been through the North Side can attest to. And for those who've been up on Mount Washington, it almost seems like those who live in the condos along Grandview Avenue, with a good enough set of binos, can pretty much watch home games out of their frontroom windows if they wanted to.

(In a weird kinda way, this is all reminding me of my first recruiting trip to Florida State University. Naturally I wanted to see the football stadium when I first got there. What I didn't expect to find is that the school's administrative offices were also housed in the same structure. In actuality, the stadium is contained within a giant facade designed to look like the rest of the surrounding buildings, and it is in that facade a good many of the university's main offices, some classrooms, and from what I can remember, the Visitors Center and at least one of the colleges, are located...or at least that was the case last time I was there, several years ago. Don't know if that's changed since then or not.)

[TheOldRoman]

Some of the things that you are recommending do require a brand new stadium to implement properly, or at least a multi-season long "renovation" (along the lines of the Yankee Stadium one.)

Actually, from the sound of it, it sounds like something more along the lines of a New Comiskey/U.S. Cellular renovation. That got accomplished over 4 or 5 offseasons, and the stadium remained fully functional between April and October each year. However, I would think that, were Rogers Centre to undergo any sort of major renovation, one of the goals would be to increase its capacity to a level viable for an NFL franchise, and that probably would require doing what was done to Yankee Stadium or Soldier Field.

Bingo! Right now the rogers centre is made up with cheap makeup, and thrifty clothing. A Comiskey style do-over is necessary. Nothing structurally is necessary. Just upgrade the crap. I really wish RC was a Baseball-Only park, the fact that it's multi purpose makes it impossible to make it look nice.

As for an NFL sized stadium. The RC isn't the answer. A new 60,000 stadium needs to be built for that, out in the portlands I'd say.

It is great to see USCF finally getting some credit. It isn't Camden Yards or PNC, but it is a nice park. On TV and in person, the renovations have changed the look and feel of the park like night to day. Even just the changing to green seats and outfield walls was a huge aesthetic improvement.

[TBGKon]

(In a weird kinda way, this is all reminding me of my first recruiting trip to Florida State University. Naturally I wanted to see the football stadium when I first got there. What I didn't expect to find is that the school's administrative offices were also housed in the same structure. In actuality, the stadium is contained within a giant facade designed to look like the rest of the surrounding buildings, and it is in that facade a good many of the university's main offices, some classrooms, and from what I can remember, the Visitors Center and at least one of the colleges, are located...or at least that was the case last time I was there, several years ago. Don't know if that's changed since then or not.)

You are correct. There are 4 seperate buildings attached to the facade of Doak. One contains the campus visitors center, with gift shop, admin, and a restaurant of some kind (I think for just faculty). Another one houses the athletic department. I believe the other two are for academic purposes. I think the reason for this diesign is because state funds were used, and to use state funds the building had to have some kind of academic purposes.

On a side note, there was a rumor that the Buccaneers Raymond James Stadium was planned to have some condos in the Buccaneer Ciove area by the pirate ship. Those plans were ultimately scrapped.

[Buster]

Like my hometown team the phillies, I don't see why citizens bank park shouldn't last 50 years at least.

The Vet only lasted 32 years and was crumbling after about 22. Philadelphia fans are rough on their park (to say the least).

I'm hoping Camden Yards ends up being a Wrigley-type park in terms of longevity. It's an awesome park. Perfect location, great atmosphere, the park itself is classic (the Warehouse is famous).

I think if the new stadium was built with respect to the game's history and built in a "classic" way like Camden, New Yankee Stadium, the Tigers' park....it will and should last for generations. Some of the technology-filled, modern, trendy designs will die off and need to be replaced as they look obsolete in terms of their technology and design. The timeless designs will look great forever. The ones trying to impress with a modern design will become outdated and boring soon enough.

For the same reasons, I prefer Soldier Field and Lambeau to the flashy, expensive home in Dallas. Anyone can hang up a big TV and coat things in chrome, but to build a home that becomes a national landmark is more admirable.

[The_Admiral]

Soldier Field isn't a landmark anymore.

[BBTV]

Like my hometown team the phillies, I don't see why citizens bank park shouldn't last 50 years at least.

The Vet only lasted 32 years and was crumbling after about 22. Philadelphia fans are rough on their park (to say the least).

I think part of that is because the City was responsible for maintaining the Vet, and (obviously) wasn't equiped for such a task. The Phillies "managed" it (even for the Eagles IIRC) and it wouldn't surprise me if once they decided that they really needed a new park, they may have intentionally skimped on the maintenance, just so prove that it was falling apart. It is widely believed that the incident with the Army (or Navy?) kids that got hurt when a piece of stadium broke and they fell was set up. Not set up to hurt anyone, that was just unfortunate. The rumor is that they wanted it to fall somehow without hurting anyone just to prove a point.

As for CBP lasting 50 years - in the modern era, a park should last exactly as long as it's owners want it to last, which is (as I pointed out earlier) until it is obvious that it lacks what is needed to take advantage of some new revenue stream. There's no reason that almost any of these parks couldn't last 100 years.

[The_Admiral]

Well, there's the "shoddy workmanship" reason, which is why there are already cracks in the concrete at Yankee Stadium. A billion dollars doesn't buy what it used to.