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.

Photo of a Minnesota Twins fan holding a ticket to a Minnesota Twins game at Target Field.

Image Credit: Gutenfrog/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

2018 marked the worst season in Target Field history for attendance with fewer than 2 million fans. In effort to increase attendance and boost revenue, the Minnesota Twins have introduced “Twins Pass”, a monthly subscription-based program that will provide fans with tickets for every home game at Target Field that month.

Photo of the outfield seats at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Home of the Texas Rangers.

Image Credit: Scott Marlowe (CC BY 2.0)

2019 will mark the Texas Rangers’ final season at Globe Life Park in Arlington (formerly The Ballpark in Arlington), before moving down the street to Globe Life Field. The Texas Rangers organization are currently exploring ways to provide more affordable seating options for baseball fans at the new stadium. This news, of course, comes after public outcries from Texas Rangers season ticket holders that complained about the increase in season ticket prices for Globe Life Field.

Aerial photo of Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 

Image Credit: Perry Quan (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Its been nearly a decade since the Pittsburgh Penguins played their final home game at Civic Arena, also known as ‘The Igloo’ and ‘Mellon Arena’. The arena was home to the Pittsburgh Penguins from 1967 until 2010 and was finally demolished in 2012. The Pittsburgh Penguins recently announced that they would be redeveloping the 28-acre arena site into a mixed-use development that will feature restaurants and bars, a hotel, retail space, mixed-income housing, a food hall, a music venue, a four-acre public park, and office buildings.

Photo of the bell at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Image Credit: Joel Dinda (CC BY 2.0)

The Philadelphia Phillies have been playing their home games at Citizens Bank Park since 2004. However, the Phillies were recently reunited with a famous piece of Veterans Stadium history last week when they placed the old Veterans Stadium liberty bell outside of Citizens Bank Park. Fans will be able to view the liberty bell near 11st Street and Pattison Avenue entrance and the Pass and Stow area.

Photo of Progressive Field taken from the 1st base side.

Image Credit: ThisisCLE - Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)

The Club Lounge at Progressive Field will be receiving a facelift as part of a $6M renovation to the area. The Club Lounge is a private area for baseball fans seated in sections 326 through 348 on Progressive Field’s 1st base side. The area has remained largely the same since Progressive Field first opened back in 1994.

Photo of Mercedes-Benz Stadium during an Atlanta Falcons game.

Image Credit: Lisa Ferdinando (CC BY 2.0)

Mercedes-Benz Stadium, home of the Atlanta Falcons, is the newest stadium in the National Football League. Two years after debuting, the Atlanta Falcons are already making changes to the stadium and have chosen to replace the turf ahead of the 2019 NFL season. However, turf replacement is a chore that is expected to be completed every few seasons due to the wear and tear by both the Atlanta Falcons and MLS’ Atlanta United FC. The constant repainting of the turf for different events also produces wear and tear.

Photo of the large Safeco Field sign at Safeco Field in Seattle, Washington.

Image Credit: Nomadic Lana - Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

Telecommunications giant T-Mobile recently purchased the naming rights to Safeco Field; home of Major League Baseball’s Seattle Mariners. The naming rights agreement was T-Mobile’s second such agreement after securing the naming rights for T-Mobile Arena, home of the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights. With the 2019 MLB season quickly approaching, the Seattle Mariners are removing the Safeco signage from the stadium to make room for the T-Mobile signage.

Photo of Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Image Credit: Aaronisnotcool/Flickr (CC BY-ND 2.0)

The NBA and the league’s 30 teams place a lot of emphasis on providing an intimate fan experience for basketball fans during games. Basketball fans also pay top dollar to sit courtside. However, Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder is calling for more protection from fans seated courtside after being tapped by a young fan during last night’s game. The incident happened at the Pepsi Center, home of the Denver Nuggets.

Photo of the concourse at Raymond James Stadium, home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Image Credit: Mike Kalasnik (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Effective March 1, 2019, Legends will become the exclusive hospitality partner for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Raymond James Stadium. The six-year agreement will allow Legends to develop and oversee the stadium’s general and premium concession offerings for the main level, club level, suites, Hall of Fame level, restaurants, and catering for special events. Legends also plans to enhance the concession items which will provide a higher quality of food and beverages for fans.

Photo of the scoreboard at Oracle Park. Home of the San Francisco Giants. 

Image Credit: Rajiv Patel (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Oracle Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, has long been considered one of the most popular stadiums in Major League Baseball. Now, the Giants organization are upgrading Oracle Park with the addition of an outfield scoreboard that will be three times the size of its current scoreboard. The scoreboard will be the first 4K scoreboard in Major League Baseball and will resemble the size of the scoreboard at AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys.

Photo of the center field area at Target Field. Home of the Minnesota Twins.

Image Credit: Amy Merideth (CC BY-ND 2.0)

Target Field, home of the Minnesota Twins, is one of the newer ballparks in Major League Baseball and originally debuted back in 2010. The ballpark originally featured a large green batters’ eye area in dead center field that was decorated with pine trees. The green area, however, made it difficult for the players to track the ball when batting at the plate; the Twins organization installed a black wall in its place. Fast forward to 2019 and the Minnesota Twins are adding the first “living wall” in Major League Baseball.

Photo of a New York Islanders game vs. the Buffalo Sabres at Nassau Coliseum.

Image Credit: Doug Kerr (CC BY-SA 2.0)

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman stated two weeks ago that the New York Islanders’ Belmont Park arena project is still on schedule for construction to begin in May 2019. The project will include the construction of a new home arena for the Islanders, a new hotel, and a mixed-use development adjacent to the arena. The New York Islanders are splitting their home games this season at both the Barclays Center in Brooklyn and Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York.

Photo of baseball fans at a concession stand at Tropicana Field during a Tampa Bay Rays game.

Image Credit: CityofStPete - Flickr (CC BY-ND 2.0)

Tropicana Field, home of Major League Baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays, will be the first stadium in North America to go completely cashless. The decision has angered many Tampa Bay Rays fans; a risky move considering the organization already struggles with attendance compared to other MLB teams. Accepted payment options will include gift cards, credit cards, and Apple Pay. Fans without credit cards will be able to purchase gift cards from vendors that will roam throughout the stadium during games. Tampa Bay Rays season ticket holders will be issued season ticket holder cards that will be able to disburse money as well.

Exterior photo of the main entrance to Angel Stadium of Anaheim. 

Image Credit: SteveKC/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

The Los Angeles Angels are currently exploring options for a new home baseball stadium after opting out of the team’s previous lease with the city of Anaheim last October. The previous lease would have kept the team at Angel Stadium of Anaheim through the 2029 MLB season. However, the Angels have signed a new one year lease extension that will keep the team at Angel Stadium of Anaheim through the 2020 MLB season. Until then, the Anaheim City Council (who approved the lease) and Angels owner Arte Moreno will explore whether to renovate Angel Stadium of Anaheim or build a new stadium nearby.

Photo taken from the upper level of Arrowhead Stadium during a Kansas City Chiefs game.

Image Credit: Kelly - Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Arrowhead Stadium, one of the oldest and loudest stadiums in the National Football League, is set to receive a series of upgrades for the 2019 NFL season. The upgrades are expected to cost nearly $10M to complete. The venue has not received any upgrades in just over a decade and is striving to continue offering a fan experience that is competitive with other NFL stadiums.

Photo of the center field gate at Nationals Park, home of the Washington Nationals.

Image Credit: Mrgarethm - Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

In an effort to enhance safety for baseball fans, the Washington Nationals announced earlier this week that they will be banning backpacks from Nationals Park in 2019. Most small bags like diaper bags, drawstring bags, and small coolers will still be welcome. Backpacks that measure even smaller than the traditionally banned 16 X 16 X 8 will not be allowed through the Nationals Park entry gates.

Photo of downtown Nashville, Tennessee at night.

Image Credit: Dimitrio Lewis (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred is exploring league options to add new Major League Baseball franchises via expansion. Potential cities that have been mentioned in the past include Portland (Oregon), Montreal (Quebec), San Antonio (Texas), Charlotte (North Carolina), Vancouver (British Columbia), and Las Vegas (Nevada). Commissioner Rob Manfred seems to think that Nashville, Tennessee could be added to that list of potential MLB expansion cities as well.

Photo of Globe Life Park in Arlington taken from the upper level during a Texas Rangers game.

Image Credit: Redlegsfan21/Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Globe Life Field, future home of the Texas Rangers, is scheduled to open on Opening Day in 2020. According to the Texas Rangers organization, Globe Life Field will be more intimate for Texas Rangers fans than Globe Life Park in Arlington, the team’s current ballpark. Globe Life Field is currently being constructed on the same property as Globe Life Park and will be built alongside a mixed-use development. The mixed-use development will be similar to The Battery Atlanta outside of SunTrust Park, home of the Atlanta Braves and will feature bars, restaurants, shopping, and office space.

Interior photo of Hard Rock Stadium during a Miami Dolphins game.

Image Credit: Jim Larrison (CC BY 2.0)

Hard Rock Stadium, home of the Miami Dolphins, has undergone one of the most dramatic structural changes in NFL stadium history over the last few seasons. The millions of dollars in renovations have drastically improved the venue’s revenue; nearly 40% from the previous fiscal year. Moving forward, Hard Rock Stadium’s profits are expected to rise by 2% each year for the next ten years and 2.5% annually thereafter.

Exterior photo of the Honda Center, home of the Anaheim Ducks. 

Image Credit: JonDoeForty1/Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)

The NHL’s Anaheim Ducks and the City of Anaheim have renewed their partnership for an additional 25 years. The new agreement will keep the Anaheim Ducks at the Honda Center through at least the 2048 NHL season; the original agreement was set to expire in 2023. After 2048, a total of 5 five-year extensions are also on the table for both parties.

Photo of a poorly attended game at the Rogers Centre during a Toronto Blue Jays game. 

Image Credit: Stefano A. (CC BY 2.0)

Toronto Blue Jays President and CEO Mark Shapiro has been under plenty of scrutiny from Blue Jays fans since taking over the reigns in 2015. The Toronto Blue Jays haven’t made the playoffs in three seasons and have fired several managers since Shapiro took over as team CEO. Earlier this week, Shapiro said that he anticipated Toronto Blue Jays’ home attendance to be down during the 2019 season. An omen to the kind of team the Toronto Blue Jays will field in 2019.