Domes now, please!

by sluggo 2.0 on Mar 31, 2008 3:38 PM EDT Comment 25 comments

I'm sure many will think this is heresy, but I really, really, REALLY think teams that have put up new stadiums in the last 20 or so years should have taken a cue from Skydome rather than Camden Yards.

We're already had one Opening Day rainout & 2 others are being delayed. Now I love the old school charm of Camden Yards, but these days "dome" doesn't have to = "monstrosity". Safeco is proof that you can combine common sense with aesthetics. And while it's true that there's nothing better than a ball game played when it's in the mid 70s under a clear blue sky, it's also true than in most places those other 78 home games can be a real problem.

From a team's point of view there's nothing that screws up a pitching staff more than about a gajillion unscheduled double headers in Aug/Sept. And from a fan's point of view there's nothing more annoying than settling down for a game & getting Rain Delay Theatre.

But instead of moving foreward most teams that are building new stadiums seem to be regressing. 2 non-domes going up in NY. And 1 in Minnesota, of all places. Yeah. Good luck with that.

Sorry, but with today's technology & engineering there's just no reason for it. Rainouts have about as much place in the world of 2008 as meat rationing, scrap metal drives & John McCain.

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We could solve all of this

by playing games underground.

"If you're not practicing, somebody else is, somewhere, and he'll be ready to take your job." -Brooks Robinson

by exitfare on Mar 31, 2008 3:47 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

fuck domes

I said it. I mean it. Play in the rain, sissies!

Camden Chat
Bad Left Hook

by SC on Mar 31, 2008 4:09 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

yeah, fuck domes

Domes are lame. It's like going to a baseball game at the mall.

Formerly known as Javylicious.

by Stacey on Mar 31, 2008 4:32 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

see...

i though this thread was going to be about my new hero kosuke fukudome.

and from scott and stacey's posts, i'm not entirely sure i'm wrong.

by j.q. higgins on Mar 31, 2008 4:42 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I've never been to a Dome.

And I plan to keep it that way.

"The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again."

by 2632 on Mar 31, 2008 4:44 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Hurm...

Pretty much the response I expected.

I think some of you may be forgetting last season's Jeter AB.

In Skydome that would never happen! (;-)

You can't fix stupid. Stupid is forever.

by sluggo 2.0 on Mar 31, 2008 5:41 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

you know

I do get what you mean. For places like Seattle, it's definitely necessary. Arizona, too, with the heat.

I just don't think New York needs it.

Camden Chat
Bad Left Hook

by SC on Mar 31, 2008 5:58 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Granted

we're not as bad off in NY as in some other places.

But I've seen a lot of strange stuff happen here - The Mets & Braves waiting out a storm until 4 AM because they were in a division race & didn't want to risk having to make it up after the season ended, Andy Pettitte pitching in an Opening Day snow storm, David Cone figuring that numbness in his arm was just the weather and not the annuyrism that it turned out to be...

You can't fix stupid. Stupid is forever.

by sluggo 2.0 on Mar 31, 2008 9:09 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

As the saying goes

That's baseball. The Jeter AB sucked, but the elements are part of the game.

Although it is gonna be C O L D in Minnesota on Opening Day.

Formerly known as Javylicious.

by Stacey on Mar 31, 2008 7:15 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Minny

I can't believe their new stadium will be open air. They should have built a retractable roof. There was something like 3 to 4 feet of snow on the ground for Minny's home opener yesterday. And I believe there was a good bit of snow on the ground for last year's opening day.

Wolf, wolf, wolf.

by birdman on Apr 1, 2008 4:30 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

No way Pohland's paying for a retractable roof

I'd be surprised if he's even paying for the doormats to the executive men's room.

In order to cover all 40,000 fans with a retractable roof, the team or Hennepin County would have to add another $100 million or so to the $330 million pricetag. Hennepin County taxpayers are already footing the bill for two-thirds of the park's cost.

Source

"I'd just like to point out that every newspaper in the country has picked us to finish last. The local press seems to think that we'd save everyone the time and trouble if we just went out and shot ourselves." - Major Leauge

by duck on Apr 1, 2008 4:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I've been to SkyDome

and it sucked. It sucked in 1995. I can't imagine how much it sucks now.

by duck on Mar 31, 2008 6:14 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

hold on.. let me comment on domes too

they blow, and have no place in baseball. Domes rarely block out the rain. Most of the time, they block out the sun. Do you know where we'd be without the sun? Why are you so anti-sun? God, I hate Communists.

by Y Not on Mar 31, 2008 8:36 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Heh heh

They've had the kind that open & close as needed since 1989.

Please, do try to keep up.

You can't fix stupid. Stupid is forever.

by sluggo 2.0 on Mar 31, 2008 8:59 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

retractable roofs are the way to go

by oriolez on Apr 1, 2008 11:08 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Domes & Retractable Roofs

First, go ahead and name a stadium that is regarded as being a beautiful ballpark that has a retractable roof or a dome. Tampa Bay built a dome and they have been dying to get out of there. Minnesota has been in a dome for 25 years and they have hated it as they are moving outdoors with their next stadium if I am not mistaken. They may have a retractable roof on their new stadium but they are in Minnesota where almost a foot of snow fell yesterday. Houston built the Astrodome, and it was a terrible stadium.

No one wants to play in a dome. Real grass is the only surface people want to play on as the fake stuff produces faster infields and hitter's parks. The roof is always having problems with people losing the ball in it. Cat walks have gotten in the way of sure home runs. Other than blocking rain, is there any real advantage? No, there isn't.

When I go to the park, I want to see the game and be in the sun & outdoors. Camden Yards is regarded as one of the best looking stadiums in baseball. People love to go there, players love to play there; it is a formula that works.

by PWubbs on Apr 1, 2008 11:43 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Safeco has a retractable roof

And it's a beautiful ballpark.

Camden Chat
Bad Left Hook

by SC on Apr 1, 2008 11:50 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

My thoughts exactly

And the new AZ Cardinals stadium has grass- the playing field rolls outside to get sun. Seriously, it rolls out on tracks. No foolin'.

And in "Ballpark," a GREAT history of the building of OPaCY, they have a napkin drawing by Jerry Hoffberger (owner of the O's in the 60s) that had a retractable roof.

by duck on Apr 1, 2008 12:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

am i wrong here...

or is there, at least symbolically (semantically, even?), a difference b/w a "dome" and a stadium w/ a retractable roof?

by j.q. higgins on Apr 1, 2008 2:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

no I feel you

When I think "dome," I think of the atrocities that are baseball games in Olympic Stadium, the hideous Kingdome, Tropicana Field, the Metrodome, Skydome, etc.

Camden Chat
Bad Left Hook

by SC on Apr 1, 2008 2:31 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Having some familiarity with the poster

I'm pretty sure dome = building with a roof.

by duck on Apr 1, 2008 2:55 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

A few more points

I'm not saying anyone misses the Astrodome, Kingdome or Metrodome. Personally, I LIKE Skydome, but that's just me.

To me the ideal solution is a dome that opens with a field of real grass, which if memory serves me right is what the D'Backs have. My thoughts on Astroturf are pretty much the same as Bill Lee's ("Don't know, never smoked it.") It's just a matter of making a dome that isn't God-awful bad ugly by using the technology that's now available.

Of course there's the matter of price. Most teams in need of new stadiums, including both NYs (not exactly cash-strapped) have decided to go old school. And while this wouldn't be my 1st choice, except may be for the Padres & both LAs, it's far from the worst thing in the world.

I mean, I think we can all agree that it's a good thing that the day of the fake grass baseball/football combo stadium is over.

You can't fix stupid. Stupid is forever.

by sluggo 2.0 on Apr 1, 2008 3:51 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Retractable Rooves (I know, I know. That's not the real plural)

In general, I'm a fan of "outdoor" stadiums. But I think retractable roofs are a great thing in baseball, where they're going to cancel the game if the weather's bad. Especially in Seattle, Florida (which I think is not getting a retractable roof, amazingly), and Minnesota (do YOU want to watch an April game outside in Minnesota?).

Personally, I'm not a fan of cold-weather baseball. I'd much rather have the roof closed than sit "outside" on sub-30 degree April night. It seems like some places (AZ) close the roofs too much. On a hot summer night, I do want to be outside when I'm at the game.

To go a little off-topic, I think football's different. Rather than canceling the game in bad weather, the weather's part of the game and playing inside seems wimpy. Sure, it's still miserable to watch a cold rainy game (but you expect to be cold at most football games, it's just kind sacreligous at a baseball game), but games like the Ice Bowl, Fog Bowl, etc, are just such a part of the game's history.

In summary,
Domes suck

Retractable roofs, the use of which are to be determined by me, are acceptable in baseball.

Retractable roofs in football are for wussies.

by BrianS on Apr 2, 2008 11:02 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

yeah

The one thing I really hate about the Lions (besides the million other things I hate about my favorite football team) is that they play inside. Man up, you weins. The Bears and Packers do it. The Lions and Vikings are babies.

Camden Chat
Bad Left Hook

by SC on Apr 2, 2008 11:57 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs