Ball 3

This past week, Minnesota lawmakers voted against a proposed stadium for the Minnesota Vikings.   The Vikings current stadium, the Metrodome, has been in disrepair for the past decade or so and the team has been lobbying for a new facility.   Soon after this decision by the legislature, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell flew in to St. Paul to remind them that Los Angeles doesn’t have a team.   That same day, Vikings owner Zygi Wilf’s jet was spotted in LA .   Sure enough, the legislature got a potential stadium deal back on track the next day. The Metrodome after its roof collapsed in a snowstorm There is very little argument against the fact that the Vikings need a new stadium.   However, the NFL is once again exerting its influence to get cities and states to put up public money to aid billion-dollar franchises.   You can’t exactly blame the NFL for this; they are simply doing what is best for the league and its franchises.   But you can blame the public sector fo

Several events over the past few weeks have gotten me thinking about the way we hear sports.  The first was the announcement that USC is looking to "update the football gameday experience" by replacing their longtime PA announcer Dennis Packer.  The second was Vin Scully’s absence during Dodger’s broadcasts, including the home opener, due to a bad cold.  And the third was the Dodgers honoring their longtime organist Nancy Bea Hefley for 25 years of service.    Classic Vin Scully We typically think of sports as purely visual experiences.  However, when you take away the sounds of the game, you learn to appreciate how important this sense is to your experience.  Growing up, my three teams were the Lakers, the Dodgers, and USC football.  I didn’t go to many Lakers or Dodgers games, so I spent a lot of time watching them on television.  This meant that I spent countless hours learning the games from Vin Scully and Chick Hearn, arguably the two best announcers

Rendering of Farmers Field in Downtown LA This past week, a 10,000 page environmental impact report (EIR) was published for the proposed Farmers Field stadium in Downtown Los Angeles.   This was a major step forward for a project that is the best option for the NFL to return to LA.   While there is a competing project in the City of Industry and some people have named Dodger Stadium as an ideal place for a stadium, Farmers Field makes the most sense for the region.               The EIR told us much of what we already knew, in the brevity of 17 volumes.   There will be traffic going to games.   Guess what, there is traffic at every stadium in America.   It once took me 2 and a half hours to get off the freeway and into the parking lot at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego.   That stadium is located in the suburbs and is surrounded by freeways.                The report estimates that 19,000 cars will enter the area for games and that 18 percent of ticket buyers will u