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When the Skydome (Rogers Centre) opened in 1989 in Toronto, it marked the first new ballpark built in MLB in 16 years since Royals Stadium (Kauffman Stadium) opened in Kansas City in 1973.
But starting with Rogers Center in 1989 up to the present in which no new park opened is (will be) 5 years between Marlins Park (2012) and the new SunTrust Pk outside Atlanta (2017).
At present, there are no new ballparks seriously planned in MLB. The greatest needs are in Oakland and Tampa Bay, but it is questionable if either locale will be able to pull off building a new park
So the question arises:
WHAT DO YOU THINK WILL BE THE SITE OF THE NEXT NEW MLB PARK AFTER SUNTURST? IN HOW MANY YEARS WILL IT BE BUILT? AND IN 2017, ARE WE TRULY AT THE END OF THE LONG (1989-2017) ERA OF NEW PARK CONSTRUCTION (24 PARKS BUILT)?
1) *Fenway Park, Boston – 1912
2) *Wrigley Field, Chicago – 1914
3) *Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles – 1962
4) *Angel Stadium of Anaheim, California – 1966
4) *The Coliseum, Oakland – 1966
6) *Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, MO – 1973
16 YEARS
7) *Rogers Centre, Toronto, Ontario – 1989
8) *Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg – 1990
9) *U.S. Cellular Field, Chicago (South Side) – 1991
10) Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore – 1992
11) Progressive Field, Cleveland – 1994
11) Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Arlington, TX – 1994
13) Coors Field, Denver – 1995
14) Turner Field, Atlanta – 1996
15) Chase Field, Phoenix, AZ – 1998
16) Safeco Field, Seattle, WA – 1999
17) AT&T Park, San Francisco – 2000
17) Comerica Park, Detroit – 2000
17) Minute Maid Park, Houston – 2000
20) Miller Park, Milwaukee – 2001
20) PNC Park, Pittsburgh – 2001
22) Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati – 2003
23) Citizen’s Bank Park, Philadelphia – 2004
23) Petco Park, San Diego, 2004
25) Busch Stadium, St. Louis, MO – 2006
26) Nationals Park, Washington, D.C. – 2008
27) Citi Field, (Queens) New York – 2009
27) Yankee Stadium, (Bronx) New York – 2009
29) Target Field, Minneapolis, MN – 2010
30) Marlins Park, Miami, FL – 2012
Rangers are getting a new one for '21 I think, so that will be the next new park. Oakland might be able to snag a new park (they need one) since the Raiders look to be gone. The 3rd most probable one to go is Tropicana Field as the Rays need a new park, but there's still the relocation issue for the Rays. Honestly, if they relocated 10 miles East across the bay to Tampa, I think they would actually have a pretty decent crowd, but not sure how many lots Tampa has to build.
Once you get to those 3, you start to come into the "cookie-cutter" era ballparks starting with OPACY in Baltimore and the artist formally known as Jacobs field in Cleveland. Of the "old" stadiums, Kauffman just got renovated so they aren't switching anytime soon, Fenway & Wrigley are basically historic landmarks, so they aren't getting bulldozed in the forseeable future. Anaheim & Dodger stadium should both be good for the forseeable future as well, just because I don't see much land for an improvements, and it's not like either stadium is falling apart anyways. 25 of 30 teams have rebuilt/renovated stadiums in the last 36 years, and of those 5 2 of them play in national landmarks.
So to answer the original question, yes I believe this is the end of the build ERA
I don't get why the Rangers are building a new stadium. Seems like such a waste. That ballpark is not that old. And the new Braves park in the middle of suburbia?
While Camden Yards started the "cookie cutter" throw back parks, it's still the best of them all. Most of the newer throw back parks are pretty sterile.
I can't believe that Kauffman is now one of the oldest parks in MLB. It's still a great park (although in a terrible location).
Anyway, I hope the A's and Rays get new parks. Move the Rays to Tampa and build a new park for the A's in Downtown Oakland. I just hope they don't move the A's to San Jose. Sacramento would be okay though.
"Cookie cutter" was the term used to collectively describe all the similar multi purpose concrete stadiums which were built in the '70's. The name stems from the venues all looking alike. Riverfront, Three Rivers, Veteran's Park, Jack Murphy Stadium...all round, dull, featureless places.
Camden Yards was celebrated for breaking the cookie cutter mold with throwback features and odd dimensions.
"Cookie cutter" was the term used to collectively describe all the similar multi purpose concrete stadiums which were built in the '70's. The name stems from the venues all looking alike. Riverfront, Three Rivers, Veteran's Park, Jack Murphy Stadium...all round, dull, featureless places.
Camden Yards was celebrated for breaking the cookie cutter mold with throwback features and odd dimensions.
Yep... Another cookie cutter was Atlanta Fulton County stadium.... went to quite a few games there as a child.
I followed that up with regular visits to Turner Field prior to moving west and adopting the Mariners and Safeco Field... which is an amazing ballpark.
Can someone tell me again why the Braves are replacing Turner Field after just 20 years?
Can someone tell me again why the Braves are replacing Turner Field after just 20 years?
It appears to be economic demographics. They are moving to a more affluent location. They don't want to talk about this publicly because the economic demographics are also racial demographics. They are shifting from a predominately African American venue to a predominantly Caucasian one.
Calvin Griffith, the notoriously cheapskate owner of the Twins, did this same thing back in the pre politically correct days. The team was the Washington Senators and DC has a majority black population. Griffith made no bones about relocating to Minnesota in search of a whiter audience, famously stating :
Quote:
I'll tell you why we came to Minnesota. It was when we found out you only had 15,000 blacks here. Black people don't go to ballgames, but they'll fill up a rassling ring and put up such a chant it'll scare you to death. We came here because you've got good, hardworking white people here.
The Rangers will get the next one, but let's do watch what Oakland and Tampa decide to do. Outside of those three and Atlanta, I can't see anything else happening.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kcmo
I don't get why the Rangers are building a new stadium. Seems like such a waste. That ballpark is not that old.
You don't live in Texas. It's real hot down here. The current park does not have a retractable roof and it could not be retrofitted today to include one. So, they're going to start over again and build one all-new, with a roof.
I'm with you, though, on the current park. Still in great shape and could easily outlast Fenway.
It appears to be economic demographics. They are moving to a more affluent location. They don't want to talk about this publicly because the economic demographics are also racial demographics. They are shifting from a predominately African American venue to a predominantly Caucasian one.
Calvin Griffith, the notoriously cheapskate owner of the Twins, did this same thing back in the pre politically correct days. The team was the Washington Senators and DC has a majority black population. Griffith made no bones about relocating to Minnesota in search of a whiter audience, famously stating :
No one could get away with a public statement like that any longer.
But they can still get away with behaving as though they believe it, as the Braves are currently illustrating.
I live about 35 minutes from where the new stadium will be. I worry about rents rising in that area. Traffic is already crazy over there.
I've been to Turner Field recently. The stadium is just fine. A little renovation won't hurt, but it isn't a grimy stadium. It has been in the back of my mind that this could be a "we want to get away from Blacks" kind of thing. On the other hand, I've been up to Cumberland Mall several times(the new stadium is across the street). In Cumberland Mall, I see mostly Blacks shopping there.
If I were to pick a city I felt was in need of a new ballpark, outside of Oakland and Tampa Bay, I would label Toronto. Watching a game in that place brings back all the horrors of the old cookie cutter stadiums like the Vet in Philly or Three Rivers in Toronto. Baseball just looks horribly out of place in it.
I suspect eventually, Toronto fans are going to want a real ballpark, now that there are plenty of far better retractable dome stadium designs out there now. How long that will take though, is anyone's guess.
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