What is Your Opinion on PNC Field? (Pittsburgh, Scranton: cul-de-sac, sales)

[scrantonluna]

Madalay and the Yankees demanded the new clubhouse or the deal was off. It was one of a handful of changes that the new franchise was contingent on.

[FightinPhils]

Originally Posted by scrantonluna

Madalay and the Yankees demanded the new clubhouse or the deal was off. It was one of a handful of changes that the new franchise was contingent on.

No...the new clubhouse was put in for the Phillies. They had to change the color of the carpeting from Red Barons red to Yankees blue when the affiliation changed.
http://thetimes-tribune.com/articles/2005/12/01/top_local_stories/15670619.txt (broken link)

[weluvpa]

Originally Posted by FightinPhils

I just can't believe that whatever problems there are at the stadium can't be fixed. Look at Fenway Park and Wrigley Field.....those places are still holding up...Fenway was built in 1912, and Wrigley in 1914.

If there were apparent structural problems, why did they build a state-of-the-art clubhouse that rivals most MLB clubhouses just a couple of years ago, as well as the new party deck!

I bet ya that there are two county commissioners that owe alot people alot of contracts...OOOPS!! Sorry I mean favors for their contributions and help during the long and expensive campaign trail. Who will design the new one Highland Assoc.?

[The Commish]

You know, I think this question is actually really complicated.

What we should do is assemble a team of economists, city planners, and other experts to assess the impact of a new sports stadium. The assessment would evaluate the impact on several possible locations and the region at large. It would look at traffic and transit issues, potential for development around the stadium, impact on surrounding businesses, etc. The goal is to just compile something concrete to help guide a decision. Well, that's what I do at least.

But that would only be logical, right?

[FightinPhils]

Originally Posted by weluvpa

Who will design the new one Highland Assoc.?

If pay-to-play was completely done away with, Highland Associates would be out of business. I've never seen a company so dependent on crony pay-to-play contracts in my life...

[to570717]

That not true at all. I am very familier with them, they do tons of out of state jobs. Take for instance NYC public schools. And by the way, as a private business, bidding on jobs, what rules do they break?

Some of you do not get the definition of Libel. You can't just say stuff about a biz like that.

[FightinPhils]

Originally Posted by to570717

That not true at all. I am very familier with them, they do tons of out of state jobs. Take for instance NYC public schools. And by the way, as a private business, bidding on jobs, what rules do they break?

Some of you do not get the definition of Libel. You can't just say stuff about a biz like that.

its not libel......Highland seems to have their noses in every government contract around here. I can pull up newspaper article after newspaper article showing how they are always involved in taxpayer-funded projects. Let them sue me. I'm not rich, it won't be worth their time.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by FightinPhils

If a multi-million dollar stadium is no good and not structurally sound after 19 years, then I guess I should abandon my 100 year old house before it falls into the ground!! Maybe the taxpayers can build me a new house??

Being the anti-McMansion guy that I am, I can safely say that many structures built 100 years ago were built to last much longer than many (not all) of the tract housing you see popping up all over places like the Back Mountain and South Abington today are. My one friend lives in the upscale Willow View subdivision adjacent to the Pittston Area High School, and even though the oldest homes there are only about 15 years old or so, one of the homes already has vinyl siding falling off of it. Meanwhile you can head into a working-class neighborhood in Dupont where a home's exterior may not have been touched in a generation, yet it still looks as good as gold. I have a feeling that whomever was affiliated with the construction of the stadium may have been using sub-standard materials. As a tax payer I would have much rather paid a PREMIUM in 1989 for top-quality building materials that would reduce future maintenance costs and permit the stadium to stand soundly for many more years to come as opposed to "cutting corners to save a few bucks" in 1989 to leave us in the predicament we're in now just under 20 years later. I am willing to pay for quality, even if others are too short-sighted to.

[FightinPhils]

Also, here is proof of Highland Associates' political activity (and this is just for national elections). Do you think they're making campaign contributions for the hell of it, not expecting anything in return?

Campaign Finance - Money, Political Finance, Campaign Contributions

Campaign Finance - Money, Political Finance, Campaign Contributions

Campaign Finance - Money, Political Finance, Campaign Contributions

Campaign Finance - Money, Political Finance, Campaign Contributions

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by FightinPhils

A downtown stadium would be nice in theory, but it would be a traffic nightmare. Remember the current stadium's early years and the traffic jams that extended almost a mile onto 81 on game nights? Multiply that by 100, and that's what downtown Scranton traffic would become....at least without major work on the roads.

It's called mass transit to the suburbs. Extend the trolley lines to stops in Clarks Summit, Pittston, and Dunmore, and hundreds of people may be willing to park their cars in these areas and ride the rails right to the stadium. That's always been a dream of mine, and hopefully I'll see this area eventually obtain some sort of respectable mass transit system. The reason why our I-81 is bumper-to-bumper at rush-hour is because even though we only have 551,000 people, 99.9% of them seem to drive to work due to lack of alternatives. Other areas where the population may be just slightly higher have efficient bus systems, light rail systems, etc. that mitigate their traffic issues. I-81 is by no means the Schuylkill Expressway (yet) but in another 10 years many sections will be handling over 100,000 vehicles per day on stretches meant only to accommodate 40,000. Why do none of our local elected officials advocate mass transit, especially when high gas prices are punching we in the middle-class in the gut?