Broadside Sports

John Powell, Assistant Sports Editor

The last year has seen a gargantuan difference in stadium trends. Two $1 billion stadiums have been constructed. The world’s largest replay board was constructed not once, but twice for the same stadium. Two comparisons can be made: the billion-dollar budget baseball stadiums in New York and the differences in the two largest stadiums in the National Football League.

The new Yankee Stadium has become the monument of the New York Yankees. The Steinbrenner philosophy, “This is the Yankees, everything has to be done first-rate,” is embodied in the $1.5 billion stadium.

While many other ballparks have a relatively low seating capacity, the Yankees play in front of a stadium which accommodates 52,000 fans. The average ticket price has risen to $72.97, a 76 percent increase from 2008. There are seats for everyone’s price range. Tickets are only $5 for the obstructed view seats while the premium seats can go for up to $2,625 per game. 1,400 video monitors give fans the ultimate game experience, used for instant replays and delayed video for fans that get out of their seats for the concessions. The new Yankee Stadium is the most expensive ballpark in the game, but it is one of the best.

The New York Mets finally got rid of Shea Stadium. For years, fans in New York and around America have waited for the $800 million baseball stadium, Citi Field. The 42,000-fan capacity stadium is more economic than their New York brother, with ticket prices ranging from $11 to $695. Both New York teams missed the playoffs last year, and it appears that a change in scenery is working for at least one team’s play.

In the NFL, the Dallas Cowboys’ stadium created talk and controversy through the off-season and the preseason. The $1.15 billion stadium has put the NFL’s highest worth team, according to Forbes, in a $200 million debt, which is still drastically better than many other NFL teams. Most other teams have had lessened revenue and are staring at a net loss this season.

The video boards have given people talk for the water cooler not only because they are the world’s largest replay boards, but that they have been hit countless times. Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones said in a post-game interview that the board was not a problem unless the punter was trying to hit it. Raising the board could cost more than $2 million. Yet, there is a perfect opportunity from Sept. 28 to Oct. 25, when the Cowboys go on a month-long road trip. The league controversy has ranged from rule issues with kicking the board to Tennessee Titans’ quarterback Kerry Collins having communication issues because speakers in the board pointed toward the field. Jones seems to have no concern to move or raise the board for the football season. Yet, for the U2 concert, Jones will temporarily raise the board 25 feet, only to drop it again for football.

The Cowboys still have nothing to say to the Washington Redskins, who are the most profitable team in the NFL, managing an income of $90 million last season despite the drowning economy. Cowboys Stadium’s 72,000 seats pale in comparison to the 91,704 seats that the Redskins seem to fill each week. The only place the billion-dollar stadium has a leg- up is in having 66 more suites than FedEx Field as well as more standing-only areas than the Washington rival.

This is the year of new, expensive stadiums. A trend has started so the world can see massive coliseums devoted to their favorite games and their heroes.