San Jose will appeal a federal court decision denying the city the chance to host a new Oakland Athletics ballpark near the Diridon rail station. San Jose and the A’s had worked on plans for a privately financed ballpark, but Major League Baseball and Commissioner Bud Selig have refused John Fisher and Lew Wolff permission […]
Archive | Major-League Baseball
Cubs Park unveiled to the public
Big opening day for Cubs Park Saturday, as an open house attracted 30,000 fans interested in learning more about the new spring training home of the Chicago Cubs. Naturally, we have a full story on our sister site, Spring Training Online. Reaction from those visiting the facility was generally good, though it appears fans are […]
Yankee Stadium hockey: cold, sunny
Yesterday’s outdoor NHL game at Yankee Stadium was an interesting mix of extremes: it was delayed because of glare from the sun, while fans suffered through extremely cold temperatures. The crowd was great for the Stadium Series game — 50,105 — but the New York Rangers/New Jersey Devils game was delayed some 40 minutes to […]
NHL Stadium Series will be scaled back in 2015
The NHL embarked on an ambitious promotional schedule this season with the Stadium Series, but look for it to be scaled back in 2015, according to league officials. This year saw six outdoor events, beginning with the Winter Classic and including outdoor games at Dodger Stadium and Yankee Stadium. That’s a pretty ambitious schedule, and […]
Brewers adding Uecker statue, Bombers burgers to Miller Park this season
Two upgrades from the Milwaukee Brewers to note this season at Miller Park: a Bob Uecker statue will be installed in the back row of the cheap seats, and burger powerhouse AJ Bombers will open a new stand. If you’re not from Miilwaukee or Madison, you probably don’t know AJ Bombers: they are purveyors of […]
New scoreboard going up at Steinbrenner Field
Another sign of spring: teams are prepping ballparks for the start of February games, and that means the installation of a new videoboard at Steinbrenner Field, spring home of the New York Yankees. The new videoboard replaces a smaller unit. This week has been spent in Florida, scouting out the spring-training sites and checking on […]
MLB security upgrades not due until 2015
There’s been some inaccurate information floating around out there about MLB’s plan to enhance security at ballparks, and the first thing to remember is simple: any changes will be mandatory in 2015. That means teams have a season to plan and implement changes. Some, like the Seattle Mariners, will screen fans as they enter the […]
Rooftop owners, Cubs disagree over Wrigley Field renovations
No surprise: the Chicago Cubs front office and owners of rooftop bleachers are still disagreeing over proposed changes to Wrigley Field that could impact the views from beyond the ballpark. It’s a symbiotic relationship to be sure: the Cubs provide the action, and the rooftop owners pay 17 percent of their revenues to sell remote […]
Cardinals announce Hall of Fame plans
With the development of Ballpark Village comes a return of the St. Louis Cardinals Museum and the launch of a new Hall of Fame in the 34,000-square-foot Cardinals Nation. You may recall the old Cardinals museum in the same building with the Bowling Hall of Fame, which closed several years ago. That Cardinals collection (which […]
Metrodome roof deflated with no problems
The deflating of the Metrodome roof happened this morning with no issues, and the demolition of the former Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Golden Gophers ballpark will continue this week. You can see a time-lapse version of the roof-deflation video, which condenses a 35-minute process down to two minutes: The process was pretty low-tech: the electricity […]
Metrodome roof to be deflated Saturday
The seats are gone and the storage rooms cleaned, which means electricity to the Metrodome will be cut off Saturday, directly leading to the roof deflating. The Metrodome roof, a two-play synthetic-cloth covering, is kept up by air pressure. When the electricity is cut off, the roof will deflate — slowly. Even if all the […]
Instant-replay system approved by MLB owners
The expansion of instant replay was approved unanimously by Major League Baseball owners yesterday, setting out the specifics of when managers can call for replay and under what circumstances. The expansion had been tentatively approved in November, subject to a detailed implementation plan and approval from Major League Baseball Players Association and the World Umpires […]
Pasco County makes pitch for spring training
With a proposed Palm Beach County spring-training complex in flux, Pasco County is jumping into the spring-training fray and working with a developer on a 19-field facility in Wesley Chapel. Wesley Chapel is about 25 miles north of Tampa, in the southernmost part of Pasco County. Wiregrass Ranch, where the facility would be located, is […]