Miami: When in Doubt, Re-Brand

Tomorrow's Super Bowl in South Florida will bring the same stadium spruce-ups that we've seen in years past. But one thing that's atypical is the fact that this year's Super Bowl actually brings a new name to its host stadium. So start getting used to the awkward, yet geographically-appropriate moniker of Sun Life Stadium. Or better yet, don't get used to it, because odds are that the joint will have a new name by sunrise. This is the mind-boggling seventh name in the 23-year history of the stadium, making it the Sean Combs of sports structures. Herewith, an abbreviated naming history of... that big bowl in Miami Gardens:

1987- 1996: Joe Robbie Stadium. Named after the Dolphins' original owner.
1996: Pro Player Park. No amateurs allowed!
1996 - 2005: Pro Player Stadium. Was the triple alliteration too much?
2005 - 2006: Dolphins Stadium. No repect for the Marlins!
2006 - 2009: Dolphin Stadium. The definition of nitpicky copy-editing.
2009: Land Shark Stadium. Little lager firm, big-time naming contract. An 8-month contract.
2010: Sun Life Stadium. They're a financial firm. Cliche.

So how to solve the idenity issues plaguing this poor stadium? Go back to basics and re-christen it as Joe Robbie Stadium. Why not honor the man who founded the first pro sports team in the state and built the darn thing in the first place? It makes too much sense to actually happen.

End Zone Aesthetics

Tonight's primetime Colts-Ravens matchup isn't just a must-see because it's an intriguing matchup of two great teams. It's yet another opportunity to admire my favorite pair of end zones in the NFL (that's right, no aspect of stadium design is too esoteric for this blog to evaluate).

The end zones at Lucas Oil Stadium (which really ought to be called the Oilfield) employ two design elements that I love: copious amounts of color and a distinctive font. The bold blue with the white Colts lettering is particularly nice-looking in an age where most FieldTurf end zones feature boring green backgrounds. If you don't have to worry about natural grass browning or being mowed, why not spend the money one time to paint your synthetic end zone?

Because Seattle is the only other team in the NFL to have a colored end zone, all of my other favorites come from the college ranks. The gold standard is Tennessee's checkerboard in Knoxville, which is as signature to that program as Rocky Top (read a cool article about the guy who paints those checkerboards here). I'm also a fan of Florida State's strikethrough lettering, USC's colorful, bold block design, and the diamond-studded end zones at Virginia.

As for the worst end zones in football? That has to go to Heinz Field, hands down. The clashing end zones feature a yellow "Pittsburgh" at one end (which isn't even written in the cool Steelers font), and plain white hash lines at the other end. Perhaps this is some half-hearted shout-out to Notre Dame, but your guess is as good as mine.

Step on a Crack...

Just when you thought that the new Yankee Stadium had taken enough of a beating in its inagural season, The New York Times offers more ammunition for critics. Just 7 months after opening, there are already visible cracks in the concrete concourse ramps. I guess Babe Ruth wasn't available to build the house this time around?

The 2016 Olympic Bids: Proposed Stadium Review

This week there's been much attention paid to Friday's anticipated announcement of the 2016 Olympic host city. Many are actively handicapping the race between Rio, Chicago, Madrid and Tokyo, with a lot of the focus being paid on the parade of stars heading to Copenhagen, which will supposedly influence which city's bid wins. But why evaluate the race based on celebrity quotient, economic impact or environmental factors, when we can simply evaluate the aesthetics of their respective Olympic Stadiums? While a full venue rundown of each city's proposed bids can be found here, this is my take on the crown jewels of each potential Olympic city:

Chicago: Olympic Stadium, to be built by 2016. While I'm not a fan of the asymmetrical roof, the interior looks well-suited to maximize capacity, which will be about 80,000. The stadium itself may end up being overshadowed however, by some of the other grand structures in what is shaping up to be an impressive array of venues across the city, best showcased in this video.

Rio: João Havelange Stadium, built in 2007. The curved arches are a nice touch, and the fact that stadium construction is already complete gives it an advantage in terms of logistics and gameday operations. At 90,000 seats, it would be one of the larger venues in recent memory.

Madrid: Olympic Stadium, built 1994, to be renovated by 2016. The current incarnation underwhelms, but the finished product looks like it will easily meet expectations (seating 70,000), and bonus points if they can actually make the roof translucent.

Tokyo: Olympic Stadium, to be built by 2016. This is by far the most progressive design, with a disk-shaped roof that appears to hover over the massive stadium, which will seat 100,000. Few specs and design drawings are available about the venue, but if we're judging only on looks, Tokyo takes the cake.

The Demise of the Multi-Purpose Facility

Unless the Minnesota Twins can catch the Tigers for the AL Central crown, the team will bid their final farewell to the Metrodome this Sunday. With the Twins moving to the beautiful, open-air Target Field next spring, it's worth noting that this will bring the number of multi-purpose baseball/football stadiums down to just two. Thanks to the stadium-building boom of the past two decades, Oakland and Miami are now the only cities with tenants in the two sports.

It's been quite noticable this past month that we haven't seen very much of that familiar rite of September-- the NFL game played on a dirt infield. This used to be a regular occurrence, with Cleveland, Seattle, Cincinnati, Houston, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Atlanta, San Diego, Denver, San Francisco, Minnesota, Oakland and Miami all sharing venues at some point in the past 20 years. But mercifully, the days of the awkward and unsightly dirt patch tackle has become a rare occurence.

Like other artificial turf facilities, the shared-tenant issue with the Twins and Vikings was unsightly, but didn't much affect play. During football games, the dirt patches at 2nd and 3rd base were always covered up by a turf cover, making the field practically indistinguishable from that of any other domed football field. The most glaring eyesore at the Metrodome however, came during baseball games. Thank goodness that by this time next week, we'll never have to see the retracted stadium seats and Hefty-bag style outfield walls.

Unfortunately, we won't completely rid the country of multi-use stadiums any time soon. With stadium deals recently falling through for both he Raiders and A's, the Oakland teams are likely stuck with each other for the forseeable future. Meanwhile, the Florida Marlins with their paltry fanbase, are more likely to move to Vegas than they are to get a baseball-only park built. Football players had better get ready for a few more years of skinned elbows and dirty laundry.

The Turnstiles Are Now Open

Il Coloseo, the one that started it all

Welcome to Stadiumantics, a site devoted to the design, construction, attendance and eccentricities of sports stadiums. Why write about stadiums? Because they host our beloved sports teams, serve as a communal meeting ground for fans, and provide an identity for our cities. Plus, stadiums are just so damned cool.

I plan to cover the arenas of all four major American pro sports, plus college, international soccer and Olympic venues. This site will offer updates on interesting stadium news and features on interesting quirks (like exploring why Notre Dame's football field has no logos or lettering). My eventual goal is to create the first (that I know of) database for past, present and future buildings, across sport. Plus I'd like to see just how many synonyms for the word "stadium" I can muster.

Finally, as I start this endeavor, I owe a big tip of the cap to ESPN's outstanding Paul Lukas. If this site can be for stadiums what Uniwatch does for uniforms, I will have succeeded beyond my nuttiest dreams.

Enjoy the game!