04/23/24
March 25, 2020
SportsFilter: The Wednesday Huddle:
A place to discuss the sports stories that aren't making news, share links that aren't quite front-page material, and diagram plays on your hand. Remember to count to five Mississippi before commenting in anger.
A nomination for least used, at least in recent decades, is the Astrodome
posted by prof at 10:13 AM on March 25, 2020
What is the most heavily used pro sports facility in North America?
Yeah, gotta be the Staples Center in LA. The United Center in Chicago has got to be pretty heavily used year 'round as well.
posted by NoMich at 10:13 AM on March 25, 2020
Had no clue that the Astrodome is A) still standing and 2) deemed a historic site so it *can't* be knocked down. What to do with that thing?
posted by NoMich at 10:31 AM on March 25, 2020
Astrodome is also an asbestos nightmare, according to what I heard on ESPN so no one can go in.
posted by billsaysthis at 10:55 AM on March 25, 2020
I wish Ballmer had found a way to keep his foot on Dolan's neck
Alas, the neck beard does not provide much traction.
posted by tahoemoj at 11:12 AM on March 25, 2020
The leader in this category might be the Rams old stadium in St. Louis, which is empty and still being paid for by the city.
FWIW, the Dome does still get some use for large concerts, monster truck rallies, auto shows, large conventions, and most recently XFL games which were selling out (lower bowl only) consistently until the shutdown.
posted by Ufez Jones at 11:55 AM on March 25, 2020
There's the San Diego stadium (I think it's the San Diego County Credit Union Stadium now? Used to be Qualcomm, and Jack Murphy prior to that) - aside from the various random uses that Ufez mentions, it hosts the Aztecs and the Holiday Bowl, maybe the Poinsettia Bowl, and that'd be about it. San Diego also has the old Sports Arena, which has similar random things and hosts the minor league hockey Gulls. Sounded from the articles like the Forum had been converted to strictly a music venue, and it's also a historic landmark so Ballmer won't be able to tear it down. But, him buying it removes any non-compete clauses from the building and he can build a Clippers-only arena serviced by the same parking lot.
posted by LionIndex at 12:19 PM on March 25, 2020
TD Garden in Boston hosts both the Bruins and the Celtics, so that's 86 nights per year of preseason and regular season games. Add the postseason (both teams were playoff teams last season and were headed there this year) and many concerts, and the usage climbs to somewhere around 100 nights per year. Staples center exceeds this I'm sure. For an outdoor venue, Gillette Stadium is used by the Patriots and the Revolution (MLS), there is also an occasional UMass game there and a few concerts. Gillette was built with private money, but received some highway improvements from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and I think some local tax relief from the town of Foxborough.
Both TD Garden and Patriot place are also entertainment and shopping venues. There are many bars and restaurants next to the stadium in Foxborough, the obligatory pro shop and museum are there as well. Away from the stadium itself but within walking distance is a collection of mostly upscale retail stores and restaurants. When TD Garden was built, it's south wall was actually touching the north wall of the old Boston Garden. Once the old building was torn down and the site cleaned up (asbestos), Jeremy Jacobs, head of Delaware North Corp. which owns the Bruins as well as the building, began building a shopping and entertainment complex which forms the lower floors of a high-rise luxury condo complex. It's almost finished, but the main effect it has had is to make entry to the games a real mess.
posted by Howard_T at 02:20 PM on March 25, 2020
Well, now that I think of it, TD Garden gets use every single day. Anytime there isn't an official event going on, Howard is there working on his 3-point shots. It's also heard that he shoots 500 free throws a night.
posted by NoMich at 02:28 PM on March 25, 2020
working on his 3-point shots.
You have it confused. I am working on my 3-point landings after falling off the bar stool as a result of too many shots. I don't do free throws. If I throw anything, I expect to get paid for it.
posted by Howard_T at 02:41 PM on March 25, 2020
Apparently France is the reigning silver medalist in Olympic cricket. Congratulations to the fine citizenry of France.
posted by NoMich at 02:42 PM on March 25, 2020
How do you say "silly mid off" in French?
posted by Howard_T at 02:45 PM on March 25, 2020
You have it confused. I am working on my 3-point landings after falling off the bar stool as a result of too many shots. I don't do free throws. If I throw anything, I expect to get paid for it.
LOL. I actually LOLling
posted by NoMich at 02:53 PM on March 25, 2020
me too
posted by bender at 04:37 PM on March 25, 2020
Here's the FBI file on Howard T.:
- Baseball umpire
- Episcopal lay minister
- SpoFi bon vivant and raconteur
- No involvement whatsoever in Hoffa disappearance
posted by beaverboard at 05:54 PM on March 25, 2020
I do think that the Staples Center likely takes the cake, between two men's basketball teams, a woman's basketball team, hockey, plus a boatload of concerts and then the one-offs like memorial services for Nipsey Hussle and Kobe (probably no more than a couple a year, but still).
And be safe, SpoFites. Wish during this time we could watch a game together and get on the old Campfire site and have a nice running play-by-play/minute-by-minute with snarky commentary and astute social observations.
I love that all these people are all about "I'm binging XYZ on Netflix" or "I've taken up the piccolo" during this quarantime (that's a deliberate portmanteau, by the way). I've got four boys we're allegedly trying to "home school" here in Chicago (9 year-old to me the other day: "If you taught at my school you would have been fired a long time ago." Followed by 12 year-old: "That's harsh, but let's just say you're not winning any teacher-of-the-year awards") plus a job that mercifully is still keeping me busy, and I just fall into bed at midnight most nights exhausted. So hats off to those of you in different life situations for which this is a nice respite to learn/do something different, but keep in mind that there are those of us out there suffering through trying to figure out 8th grade math by watching YouTube videos on the sly so as to not admit to our children that we have basically a 7th grade (or more accurately, something south of 8th grade -- could be 5th or 6th for all I know) understanding of math.
posted by holden at 06:35 PM on March 25, 2020
Astrodome is also an asbestos nightmare, according to what I heard on ESPN so no one can go in.
And they can't remove the asbestos because every trash barrel in the county has been pounded into submission.
posted by beaverboard at 06:42 PM on March 25, 2020
Wow, holden, this situation is requiring next-level parenting and glad to see you're having a sense of humor about it.
posted by billsaysthis at 10:25 AM on March 26, 2020
Yeah man, I am most certainly not envious of *that* situation. I have a hard enough time with my *one* (now, as of today) 10 year old girl. All of her teachers have said that she is super easy to teach, but that is my experience with her. LOL
posted by NoMich at 11:42 AM on March 26, 2020
Coronaquiz:
What is the most heavily used pro sports facility in North America?
I have no idea, but would be interested to know.
For example, the Staples Center is currently home to the Lakers, Clippers, Kings, and Sparks. That seems like a lot of usage.
Somewhere there are facilities that get used little and cost taxpayers much. The leader in this category might be the Rams old stadium in St. Louis, which is empty and still being paid for by the city. At the other end of the spectrum, hopefully there are facilities that were privately funded and are getting a lot of usage.
I began thinking about this when I found out that Steve Ballmer bought the old Forum in LA and the Clippers will be moving there after it gets renovated. He had to go to court with the infamous James Dolan to be able to buy the building. (I wish Ballmer had found a way to keep his foot on Dolan's neck regarding anything else he could think of while they were in a courtroom).