FromThisSeat Blog

 

Welcome to the FromThisSeat Blog.

Here our editors will bring you plenty of news coverage on tickets, ballparks, stadiums and arenas as they pertain to the NFL, NHL, MLB and NBA.  If you have any questions or suggestions pertaining to the articles, feel free to 'Contact Us' via the navigation bar.

Stock photo of empty stadium seats. 

Owning season tickets for your favorite NHL, NFL, NBA or MLB teams are a common dream for many fans and their families. Particularly with NFL fans, we've all heard stories of families that have had season tickets and the exact same seats passed down through a number of generations. I've even met a sports fan in Detroit that is a season ticket holder for the city's four professional teams. However, the stark reality for many of us is we either just don't have the money to purchase season tickets or the time to justify the purchase. Is becoming a season ticket holder worth the hassle?

Photo of Miami Marlins players inside the dugout at Marlins Park.

Image Credit: Elizabeth Gilbert (CC BY 2.0)

Jeffrey Loria, owner of Major League Baseball's Miami Marlins, is currently in discussions with outside investors about potentially selling the team. Interested parties include Joshua Kushner, a venture capitalist from New York City and brother-in-law to Ivanka Trump. Kushner along with Joshua Meyer, another in-law, would purchase the team along with other investors that have yet to be named.

Las Vegas strip aerial photo.

Image Credit: Ron Reiring (CC BY 2.0)

Financial services giant Goldman Sachs has withdrawn it's financial support for the potential future home stadium of the Oakland Raiders. The Oakland Raiders are attempting to relocate to Las Vegas, Nevada. Goldman Sachs, headquartered in Manhattan, are the second group to withdraw their financial support from the Las Vegas Raiders financial pool. Hotel mogul Sheldon Adelson has also withdrawn his financial support for a new stadium that would likely be built near the famous Las Vegas strip. 

Photo of Qualcomm Stadium during a San Diego Chargers game. 

Image Credit: SD Dirk (CC BY 2.0)

San Diego has always been a small sports market but I was skeptical that they would ever lose their beloved Chargers. The Chargers called San Diego home for 56 years and were one of the hallmark teams of the American Football League. What could San Diego residents have done to keep the team in San Diego?

Photo of Oakland Raiders players in the huddle during a game versus the Miami Dolphins.

Image Credit: Pete Sheffield (CC BY-SA 2.0)

The Oakland Raiders organization has officially filed the paperwork necessary to relocate the team to Las Vegas, Nevada. The move comes after many years of speculation that the team would be relocating to a larger sports market such as Los Angeles, California. The potential move will first need to be approved by at least 75% of the league's owners. That vote will take place in March of 2017. The National Hockey League has beaten the NFL to the punch in becoming the first professional sports team in the city. 

Photo of James Starks doing the Lambeau Leap at Lambeau Field during a Green Bay Packers game.

Image Credit: Midwest Communications (CC BY-SA 2.0)

The first Lambeau Leap took place on December 26th, 1993 when Reggie White picked up a fumble and lateraled to defensive back Leroy Butler for a touchdown. Butler entered celebration mode and leaped into the arms of the fans in the first row of Lambeau Field's south end zone. The Green Bay Packers were playing the Los Angeles Raiders in what was the third coldest game in Green Bay Packers history at the time (19 degrees below 0). The Packers went on to shutout the Los Angeles Raiders 28-0.

Photo of the basketball court at the Bradley Center during a Milwaukee Bucks game.

BMO Harris Bradley Center

Image Credit: Daniel X O'Neil (CC BY 2.0)

The Milwaukee Bucks have been playing their home games at the BMO Harris Bradley Center since 1988. After NBA Commissioner Adam Silver gave the Milwaukee Bucks organization an ultimatum in 2013 to either relocate to another city or build a brand new arena, the Milwaukee Bucks immediately began making moves. The Wisconsin Entertainment and Sports Center will debut at the beginning of the 2018-2019 NBA season.

Photo of the Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit, Michigan.

Image Credit: Ken Lund (CC BY-SA 2.0)

The Detroit Pistons are relocating to downtown Detroit for the 2017-2018 NBA season to share Little Caesar's Arena with the Detroit Red Wings. The move comes rather unexpected after it was previously speculated that the Pistons would stay at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan; their home arena since 1988. The move will put all four of Detroit's professional sports teams within blocks of each other. Little Caesar's Arena will also be the 11th arena that hosts both an NBA and NHL franchise under the same roof.

Photo of downtown Ottawa, Ontario.

Image Credit: Prayitno (CC BY 2.0)

The Ottawa Senators ownership group (RendezVous Group) are following in the footsteps of the Edmonton Oilers and the Detroit Red Wings by proposing plans for a mixed use development and a brand new arena for the team. The project will be built in the LeBreton Flats on the edge of downtown Ottawa and will be called IllumiNATION LeBreton. Senators owner Eugene Melnyk is helping the project gain steam which will cost nearly $3.5 billion to construct. The Senators currently play their home games at the Canadiena Tire Centre in Kanata, just outside of Ottawa.

Exterior photo of the Scottrade Center. Home of the St. Louis Blues. 

Image Credit: Loco Steve - Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

Now that the dust has settled from the St. Louis Rams vacancy, St. Louis city officials and the St. Louis Blues organization are lobbying for multi-million dollar renovations to the Scottrade Center. Many area residents and St. Louis Blues fans won't argue that the arena is in need of a little tender, love and care. However, the city's taxpayers are going to end up footing the majority of the renovation costs which has become a common theme in America's professional sports leagues.

Photo of the Wrigleyville rooftops on Waveland Avenue outside of Wrigley Field. 

Image Credit: Coastal Elite (CC BY-SA 2.0)

If you've ever sat atop one of the many Wrigleyville rooftops behind Wrigley Field and felt cheated, don't feel bad. Marc Hamid, the former owner of the Skybox on Sheffield, was just sentenced to 18 months in prison for defrauding the Chicago Cubs organization via mail fraud and illegal bank structuring. The prosecuting attorneys were originally seeking an 8 year prison sentence for Hamid. 

The Texas Rangers organization are already making plans for the construction of a new ballpark to replace Globe Life Park in Arlington which is only 23 years old. New renderings of the proposed stadium have surfaced and many can't believe but comment on how similar the renderings resemble Minute Maid Park, home of the Houston Astros. The new ballpark wouldn't open until circa 2020 or 2021 and the proposed design of the stadium is not final. 

Exterior photo of Nationwide Arena. Home of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Image Credit: Marada (CC BY-ND 2.0)

Nationwide Arena has served as the home arena to the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets since 2000. In 2011, Nationwide Realty Investors, the arena's owner, sold the arena to the Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority for a little over $40 million. Since then, the convention authority has pushed for the arena to be designated as exempt from paying property taxes.

Photo of a Washington Capitals game at Capital One Arena during a hat trick cleanup. 

Image Credit: Geoff Livingston (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Hockey's hat trick tradition is perhaps the most unique tradition in all of professional sports. For those of you that may not follow the National Hockey League as closely as other sports, a hat trick is when one player scores three goals in one game. To honor the player's performance, the hockey fans in the stands will then throw their hats onto the ice. 

Exterior photo of T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Image Credit: Tomas Del Coro (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Professional sports has finally arrived in Sin City. The National Hockey League's 31st team will be known as the Vegas Golden Knights; the NHL's first expansion team since 2000. No one thought hockey would be the first sport to land in the desert, however, Las Vegas businessman and Golden Knights owner Bill Foley fell in love with the sport many years ago and has teamed up with the Maloof Family to make his dream a reality.

Photo of the main entrance at the Consol Energy Center. Home of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Image Credit: Bill Rand (CC BY 2.0)

The Pittsburgh Penguins have changed the name of their home arena from the Consol Energy Center to PPG Paints Arena. Pittsburgh Penguins fans were shocked to hear of the new naming rights deal considering the arena opened just six short years ago and already has it's second corporate naming rights sponsor.

Exterior photo of Sports Authority Field at Mile High taken at night. Home of the Denver Broncos.

Image Credit: Heath Alseike (CC BY 2.0)

After sporting goods retailer Sports Authority declared bankruptcy in 2016, the Denver Broncos were left without a corporate sponsor to put their name on the team's home stadium. Instead, the Broncos temporarily changed the venue's name to Mile High Stadium, much to the delight of Denver Broncos fans. 

Photo of downtown Tempe, Arizona.

Image Credit: Tyler Bolkin (CC BY 2.0)

The Arizona Coyotes are taking a page out of the Florida Panthers' book and requesting funds for a new home arena miles from downtown Phoenix. (The Florida Panthers' home arena is in suburban Sunrise, Florida). CEO Anthony Leblanc and the Arizona Coyotes front office are seeking a brand new arena in Tempe, Arizona near Arizona State University. The proposed arena is estimated to require $400 million for construction, half of which will be paid by local taxpayers, the other half by the Arizona Coyotes organization. 

Photo of rats that have been thrown onto the ice at the BB&T Center during a Florida Panthers game. 

Image Credit: Christopher Moyer - Facebook

"The Rat Trick" is one of the more popular fan traditions in the National Hockey League, however, it is also somewhat of a well kept secret. A few of the more popular fan traditions in the NHL include the Chicago Blackhawks fans that cheer during the national anthem and the Detroit Red Wings fans that throw Octopus onto the ice at Joe Louis Arena. That could be because the Florida Panthers don't get nearly as much media exposure or have as large of a fan base as other NHL teams. However, how this quirky tradition began is legendary. 

Photo of the ice at Bridgestone Arena during a Nashville Predators home game. 

Image Credit: Stephen Yeargin (CC BY-SA 2.0)

If you're an avid NHL fan, you're likely already familiar with the octopus toss at Joe Louis Arena, home of the Detroit Red Wings. That particular tradition began back in the 1950's during a Detroit Red Wings playoff run. The Nashville Predators fans decided to mimic the octopus tradition during a game between the Red Wings and the Predators in October of 2002 by throwing a catfish onto the ice at Bridgestone Arena. 

Exterior photo of EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. Home of the Utah Jazz.

Image Credit: UtahStizzle

Vivint, a services provider for smart home and security products, has purchased the naming rights to the Utah Jazz home arena in Salt Lake City. The venue has been known as EnergySolutions Arena since 2006 and the Delta Center between 1991 and 2006. In fact, many Utah Jazz fans still refer to the building as the Delta Center.