The funding of stadiums is obviously political, but I also think a lot about the politics of the location of stadiums. Where are the located? How do people arrive to the stadium? Who is it convenient for? Citi Field and Yankee Stadium are both a bit out of the way in the outer boroughs, but they are ultimately accessible by public transit from a variety of locations. Yankee stadium in particular has multiple subway lines and Metro North access. Even better, I think it's incredibly cool when a stadium is right smack in the middle of an urban area like MSG. On the other hand, there are a handful of teams doing the opposite. The Braves moved out of Atlanta totally to Cobb County. The Bears are exploring moving out of Chicago and into the suburbs. That sucks, in my opinion.
And pickup games are so fun to watch and see the community they create. One time I was biking past St John's Rec Center in Crown Heights and saw a game between two teams that were mixtures of Orthodox Jewish and Black men, and all I could think was "Damn, Brooklyn rocks."
The night Germany and Hungary were playing in the Euro Cup, my spouse and I went to a tiny little jazz club in Berlin. It was packed … perhaps the only 40 people in the city not watching the match—so that episode of sports-in-a-city made for a different kind of bonding. Thanks for another great post!
Great article. A couple things to add.
The funding of stadiums is obviously political, but I also think a lot about the politics of the location of stadiums. Where are the located? How do people arrive to the stadium? Who is it convenient for? Citi Field and Yankee Stadium are both a bit out of the way in the outer boroughs, but they are ultimately accessible by public transit from a variety of locations. Yankee stadium in particular has multiple subway lines and Metro North access. Even better, I think it's incredibly cool when a stadium is right smack in the middle of an urban area like MSG. On the other hand, there are a handful of teams doing the opposite. The Braves moved out of Atlanta totally to Cobb County. The Bears are exploring moving out of Chicago and into the suburbs. That sucks, in my opinion.
And pickup games are so fun to watch and see the community they create. One time I was biking past St John's Rec Center in Crown Heights and saw a game between two teams that were mixtures of Orthodox Jewish and Black men, and all I could think was "Damn, Brooklyn rocks."
Now THAT'S an only in bk moment.
The night Germany and Hungary were playing in the Euro Cup, my spouse and I went to a tiny little jazz club in Berlin. It was packed … perhaps the only 40 people in the city not watching the match—so that episode of sports-in-a-city made for a different kind of bonding. Thanks for another great post!