A Greener Playing Field

By Eliza Barclay

In sports, April was a big month, with major arenas that are home to professional basketball and ice hockey teams announcing the receipt of LEED certification, a third-party verification of their green building operations and performance.

The American Airlines Arena in Miami and Philips Arena in Atlanta joined the Washington Nationals Ballpark in Washington, DC and Detroit Lions Headquarters and Training Facility as professional sports facilities that have earned the label "green," according to the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), which developed LEED (leadership in energy and environmental design) standards. The arenas house baseball, football, basketball, and ice hockey teams.

Seven other university and private sports facilities, including tracks and gymnasiums, have earned LEED certification. And according to USGBC spokesman Marie Coleman, 139 sporting arenas have applied for LEED certification or are in the process of greening.

A Greener Playing Field....

Big 12, Big East in Bowl Game at Yankee Stadium

The Big East and Big 12 Conferences will play in a new college football bowl game in 2010 at the new Yankee Stadium. In a news conference Wednesday, it was announced the game would be played between Christmas and New Year's Day.

Cowboys Scoreboard Height OK, for Now

The NFL ruled Friday that the Cowboys scoreboard, which served as a target for punters last Saturday in the first game played there, won't have to be moved, at least not this season.

Are Cowboys Video Screens Too Low?

Titans punters booted punts in warmups for Friday's preseason game up into large video screens that hang over the center of the field of the Cowboys new stadium. Dallas owner Jerry Jones said he's comfortable with the height of the screens.

The Greatest Stadium Ever Built?

Take an exclusive, behind-the-scenes tour of the new billion dollar Cowboys Stadium with the man who built it: Jerry Jones. The Dallas Cowboys' owner will show you the largest HD video screen ever built, and other rare finishing touches.

SAfrican Strike Threatens 2010 World Cup Events

Striking South African construction workers, building stadiums for the 2010 World Cup, vow to continue their strike until employers meet their demand for a 12 percent wage increase.

Cowboys Open Door of $1.15B Stadium

The Dallas Cowboys pride is showing as team owner, Jerry Jones, opened the door to their new state-of-the-art stadium to an invitation only crowd.

Dallas Cowboys Show Off Giant Stadium TV

The Dallas Cowboys have unveiled a $40 million HDTV in their new stadium. It's 72 feet high and 160 feet long and hangs high above the center of the field.

Seaver Gives Citi Field High Marks

Hall of Famer Tom Seaver is impressed with the Mets' new ballpark and wasn't surprised in the least he was asked to throw out the first pitch.

Fans Flock to First Game at Citi Field

Mets Hall of Famer Tom Seaver threw out the ceremonial first pitch Monday before the first game at the team's new ballpark, Citi Field. Fans arrived early for the home opener against San Diego.

New Yankee Stadium Echoes the Past

The new Yankee Stadium cost $1.5 billion, making it the most expensive sports facility ever built in the United States. The Yankees play their first game in their new home Thursday.

Mets New Ballpark Has a Nod to the Past

The Mets begin play this year in their brand new, $800 million ballpark, Citi Field. The team's new home has many amenities for both fans and players. The new ballpark replaces the Mets former home, Shea Stadium, which opened in 1964.

Historic Dodgertown Is History

After 61 years of pre-season tune-ups on the East Coast, starting this year the Dodgers are holding Spring Training in Arizona. The move has left the city of Vero Beach, Fla. with an empty stadium and dim economic prospects.

Former Home of NY Mets Demolished

Shea Stadium, the circular modern stadium that hosted two World Series title winners but was criticized for its lack of charm and amenities, met its end Wednesday. It was 44.

Niners could be stuck at the 'Stick

Phillip Matier,Andrew Ross

Stalled negotiations and economic uncertainty now have the San Francisco 49ers eyeing a vote in November rather than June on their proposed $900 million stadium in Santa Clara - a delay that could leave the team stuck at Candlestick Park well into the next decade.

At the very least, team officials acknowledge that the extra five months before a vote means the Niners' hoped-for home near the Great America amusement park probably won't be built by their self-imposed deadline of 2012.

"It looks like the target date will slip," team spokeswoman Lisa Lang said Tuesday.

That would force the 49ers to re-up at Candlestick, where their lease with the city expires after the 2012 season. The Niners have three options to renew after that, but each commits the team to an additional five years.

Candlestick isn't getting any younger. If they're stuck there through 2017, the Niners are going to want some fix-ups.

Already, the team is working up designs for a new club area with premium seating that could be introduced the season after next.

But there may be more to it than that. Lang confirmed that the Niners are looking at the possibility of a major remodel of the 'Stick - an option they had previously rejected as far too costly.

"We are running the numbers again because things have changed," Lang said. It seems that with the economic downturn, rehabbing the stadium might not be as expensive as once thought.

In December, new team President Jed York met with Supervisors Bevan Dufty and Sophie Maxwell and hinted that - depending on the outcome of their efforts in Santa Clara - he might come back to the city in three to six months to talk about a Candlestick rehab.

Dufty said he was under the impression they weren't talking about the kind of massive makeover that Chicago's Soldier Field got, "but something that might be north of $100 million."

Niners could be stuck at the 'Stick....

Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce supports NFL stadium proposal

By Bethania Palma Markus

LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce has come out in support of an NFL stadium proposed for Industry.
The chamber's board voted to support the project Jan. 8, largely due to the thousands of jobs the project would bring to the area, a spokesperson said.

"We're viewing everything this year through a lens of job creation and economic growth," said Gwen Oldham, chamber marketing and communications director. "Our board voted to support the project because it will be such a great stimulus to our economy."

Billionaire developer Ed Roski Jr. and his development company, Majestic Realty Co., proposed an $800 million NFL stadium-entertainment complex for a 600-acre plot of land northwest of the 57/60 freeway interchange.

Majestic officials have said the stadium could be built as soon as 2012, depending on whether Roski is able to bring in a team.

Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce supports NFL stadium proposal....

Will new Nets arena be scaled back?

Value engineering and a more traditional design are the order of the day as Bruce Ratner scales back the ambitious Atlantic Yards project, which includes a new arena for the New Jersey Nets.

Reports out of Brooklyn have the $4.1 billion scaled back to the point where engineers are evaluating the design from iconoclast architect Frank Gehry to see if it can be built on a smaller budget. And the first step in the process is reviewing the arena design -- currently estimated to cost close a billion dollars.

Will new Nets arena be scaled back?....

No credible terror threats seen for Super Bowl

By EILEEN SULLIVAN

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. intelligence officials have found no credible threat of terrorist attacks at the Super Bowl scheduled Feb. 1 in Tampa, Fla., but they are still raising security concerns.

A joint FBI and Homeland Security intelligence assessment cautions that Raymond James Stadium, the Super Bowl site, does not have the typical security features of permanently secure buildings and arenas.

The report, obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press, says possible attackers could be deterred by the posting of hundreds of visible security officials, barriers and other measures.

Officials are also concerned that terrorists or criminal could impersonate government or military officials because some Florida law enforcement badges and uniforms were stolen in 2008.

No credible terror threats seen for Super Bowl....

Ballpark's Final Tag: $693 million

BY Tim Lemke

Nationals Park already has a season under its belt, but the final touches on the stadium's construction are just wrapping up. And we finally have a total price tag for the project: $693 million.

Remember when it was $535 million? Or $611 million. Or $631 million. Yeah, well that seems like ages ago.

The sports commission is in the process of executing a "close-out' agreement with the stadium construction team, Clark-Hunt-Smoot. Basically, the completion of that agreement means the work is done.

Ballpark's Final Tag: $693 million....