Tuesday, 20 May 2008

rebuiliding home


The Kansas city Royals Baseball team made known their plans for the renovations to Kauffman Stadium last Monday morning. The $250 million dollar project is to start this October and be finished by Opening Day 2010. some new features will include a high definition scoreboard, 39,000 seats, some terraces, wider walkways on all three parts and an outfield walkway that will let the fans to walk around the entire stadium. "We are going to have a brand new stadium," Jackson County legislative chairman Dan Tarwater said earlier this season. Anther addition is a restaurant in right field that could feature local fast food joints. They are approaching a Bar type feel to it and will be a gathering place for fans. Left field will have a Hall of Fame exhibit. The changes will be done in different parts. By Opening Day 2008, new bullpens will be to the sides of the field expanded dugout and crown seating and expanded vomitories -- the tunnel-like passages between the seats and the outside walls -- in the stadium. "We need to do everything in a certain sequence," Uhlich said. Opening Day 2009 will feature several more changes, including an outfield plaza, a walk of fame, an expanded View Level concourse and a food court, new scoreboard and new press facilities. Everything should be finished by Opening Day 2010, with several final touches, including completed areas in the Diamond Club, Crown Club, Stadium Club and home-plate suites installed. "There are going to be areas in the stadium that are going to be touched for all facets of fans, not only the premium areas -- obviously those are necessary for any renovation -- but the fan who is going to come to one game a year," Uhlich said earlier this season. The Royals said they looked at several ballparks for the new design, including Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park, San Diego's PETCO Park and the renovation at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. "The best designs take little pieces from everything," Uhlich said.

Sunday, 18 May 2008

vikins new digs


Just when we thought that all team owners were a bunch of cheap rich boys. Along comes Billionaire team owner Edward P. Roski Jr. he has agreed to make a NFL stadium only fit for Los Angeles. Now, all he needs is a team that is willing to play there. Roski, a part owner of the Sacramento Kings and Los Angeles Lakers who has been trying for years to get a Professional NFL team back to L.A. he revealed plans on Thursday for a 75,000-seat stadium in the City he said it could be done in time for the 2011 season. “I intend to develop our stadium project that meets all of the NFL requirements, and more,” he said at a news conference in the Staples Center, where he shows a copy of what the stadium would look like. “Always the most important thing has been the certainty of doing this. A team is not going to commit to coming to Los Angeles without a stadium. We’ve taken this one point of uncertainty and made it a certainty. The stadium is a certainty and it will be built.” And he also stated that he would do without the public dollar. “Absolutely no taxpayer dollars,” he said. “There’s no taxpayer dollars to get.” He has plans for a 600-acre site to be fronted by a shopping mall; it will be on an empty property which he already owns. Roski said the cost would be around $800 million, the stadium will be made on a hillside which means way less steel he has to use. That will means that he pays 400 million less than if it were made on flat land. There is speculation that the Minnesota Vikings have agreed to move in to the new stadium. Since the team’s lease in the metro dome will expire at the end of the 2010 season perfect timing to move into their own home and don’t have to share with the Twins.

Wednesday, 14 May 2008

the cardinals new nest







The St. Louis Cardinals finally revealed the secret investors behind the hidden share of their $387.5 million dollar stadium plans, and it just so happens to be the team themselves. They were obviously unable to find someone who wanted to buy a baseball team, but can you blame them. the Cardinals decided to give up $30 million more for the new stadium, yet selling $200 million in private bonds to pay for the rest of the stadium

So the total cost breakdown will be as listed:



  • $42.7 million from the state to pay for the inside of the building and the demolitionandto remake an interstate ramp;


  • $3.4 million yearly for eliminating the city ticket tax, which the should get $42.9 million worth of bonds back;


  • $90 million from the Cardinals;


  • $200.5 million in private bonds, to be paid back by the team at $15.9 million a year;


  • a $45 million loan from the county, to be repaid with interest. But the Cards can instead choose to simply hand over the stadium after 30 years, which they Most likely will.




So while public funds are involved the public money is covering between one quarter and one third of the construction cost, the new St. Louis stadium is still being funded mostly by priavte dollars which is the second highest amount of private money. it left the Cardinals in the hole the team is going to have $12.5 million left over in payments , and the need to regain another $90 million. the Cardinals are one of the teams with the most profit potenital in the majors they are going to need all the help they can get to make the money back. but down the road lets see if how the teamcan recover from this financial hit, But we all know the city loses every time