In the first few months of 2022, a rush of plans for new or renovated National Football League stadiums has shattered all-time records for levels of public funding provided to sports projects. First came the April approval of just over $1 … Continue reading
When developer Forest City Ratner (FCR) was in the midst of seeking final approval in 2008 for what would become Brooklyn’s Barclays Center and Pacific Park development complex, its officials pointed to the promises of housing, jobs, and other items that … Continue reading
When Amazon announced that it had purchased the naming rights to Seattle’s newly rebuilt multipurpose arena in June 2020, it wasn’t the usual deal to slap a corporate moniker on a sports venue. First off, it wasn’t Amazon’s name going on the … Continue reading
Even for Albany, the endgame went fast. For the better part of three months, Governor Kathy Hochul had kept her plan to throw public money at a new stadium for the Buffalo Bills under wraps as the state budget progressed, … Continue reading
As Major League Baseball’s scheduled March 31 opening day looms nearer without a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA), the nation’s sports media are pointing fingers squarely at both sides: the players’ union as well as team owners, who have been … Continue reading
In the winter of 2006, the mood among Bronx elected officials was of hard-fought accomplishment. Along with representatives of Bronx community groups and developers the Related Companies, borough politicians had just finished hashing out a deal for the planned overhaul … Continue reading
When Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed legislation in December making Ohio the 33rd state to legalize sports gambling, the talk locally was less of opening up the joys of betting on who’ll score the Cleveland Browns’ first touchdown than of … Continue reading
Readers of CNN’s website (4/15/21) saw an alarming headline: “So Far, 5,800 Fully Vaccinated People Have Caught Covid Anyway in US, CDC Says.” Nearly 6,000 so-called “breakthrough” infections—cases of Covid-19 contracted by people after they had been vaccinated against the coronavirus … Continue reading
Future generations, if there are any future generations, may one day look back at the Texas Rangers’ stadium as the first stadium designed for the Anthropocene epoch. Globe Life Field was built at a cost of $1.2 billion, nearly half of … Continue reading
MLB’s year-long assault on its minor-league affiliates, first launched last fall, ended this month with unconditional surrender, as the nation’s farm teams fully capitulated to a plan that will see 43 franchises either get bumped to independent leagues, demoted to amateur leagues, or … Continue reading