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.

Exterior photo of Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas. Home of the Texas Rangers.

Image Credit: Ben+Sam -Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)

The Texas Rangers and city of Arlington have agreed on a funding and closing agreement for the team’s future ballpark. The 40,000 seat ballpark is expected to open in 2020 after the opening of an adjacent mixed-use development called “Texas Live!”. The development will feature retail, bars, restaurants and hotels; similar to Ballpark Village at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. The agreement outlines the important steps that need to be taken in order for the new stadium to be funded and constructed.

Photo of the 3rd base seats at Wrigley Field. Home of the Chicago Cubs.

Image Credit: Andy Rusch (CC BY 2.0)

The Chicago Cubs organization are continuing to modernize Wrigley Field with the addition of three new premium seating areas that will debut in time for the 2019 Major League Baseball season. The three new seating areas will all be private clubs; the Maker’s Mark Barrel Room, the W Club and the Catalina Club. The opening of the American Airlines 1914 Club (located behind home plate) had already been announced and that area will open at the beginning of the 2018 Major League Baseball season. The Chicago Cubs are actively pitching the three new seating areas to current Chicago Cubs season ticket holders.

Photo taken from the upper level of M&T Bank Stadium during a Baltimore Ravens game.

Image Credit: Connor Turner (CC BY-SA 2.0)

In an effort to keep M&T Bank Stadium modernized and up to date with the rest of the National Football League, the Baltimore Ravens will be implementing a $144 million renovation project over the next three seasons. The upcoming upgrades will include two new jumbotrons in each end zone that measure 200 X 36 feet. The new jumbotrons will be twice the size of the current jumbotrons.

Photo of San Francisco 49ers fans at Levi's Stadium. 

Image Credit: KA Sports Photos (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Michael Lewis of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia recently conducted a study to determine the best fans in the National Football League. How would someone be able to measure that? Lewis used three different metrics that he termed as social equity, fan equity and road equity.

Photo of Washington Redskins fans cheering at Fedex Field.

Image Credit: KA Sports Photos (CC BY-SA 2.0)

The Washington Redskins play in one of the largest markets in the National Football League and therefore, get plenty of media attention. If you spend any time on social media during football season, you’ve likely seen the hashtag “HTTR” in reference to the Washington Redskins. But what does it mean?

Photo of a group of rowdy Chicago Bears fans.

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

The term “Bear Down” can be heard all throughout the day at Soldier Field during Chicago Bears home games. If you’re active on social media during football season, you’ll also see the term frequently hash-tagged by Chicago Bears fans. But what does "Bear Down" really mean?

Panorama of Busch Stadium. Home of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Image Credit: Kevin Ward (CC BY-SA 2.0)

The St. Louis Cardinals recently faced backlash for announcing that they will be hosting a “Christian Day” on Sunday, July 30th when they host the Arizona Diamondbacks at Busch Stadium. The event will feature former St. Louis Cardinal Lance Berkman as a post-game speaker, who has been vocal about his displeasure with the transgender bathroom issue.

Photo of Pete Rose signing autographs at a public event. 

Image Credit: Tenaciousme - Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

The Cincinnati Reds paid tribute to their most prolific player in team history on June 17th, 2017 when they unveiled a statue of Pete Rose outside of Great American Ballpark. The statue was designed by Tom Tsuchiya, an artist in the Cincinnati area. The statue depicts Rose sliding head first into a base and symbolizes the aggressiveness and hustle he displayed as a baseball player.

 

Photo of the protective netting system at Citi Field during a New York Mets game.

Image Credit: John Wisniewski (CC BY-ND 2.0)

Thanks to Rafael L. Espinal Jr., a city council member in New York City, the New York Mets will be adding three times the amount of protective netting at Citi Field. The change comes via a bill Espinal introduced to improve fan safety at Citi Field that will protect baseball fans from foul balls and other debris like broken bats. Espinal is calling on the New York Yankees to take the same protective measures by adding more protecting netting at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. 

Photo of the Boston Red Sox street sign outside of Fenway Park.

Image Credit: Mr. Littlehand - Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

For 14 seasons, David Ortiz dominated the diamond as a designated hitter and first baseman for the Boston Red Sox. Tomorrow, the organization will retire Ortiz’s number 34 during a game vs. the Anaheim Angels. Earlier today, the city renamed the Yawkey Way Extension outside of Fenway Park “David Ortiz Drive”. The Boston Bridge along Brookline Avenue is already named after Ortiz who played a total of 20 seasons in Major League Baseball and retired following the 2016 season.

Photo of the W flag flying at Wrigley Field during a Chicago Cubs home game. 

Image Credit: Unique View (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Major League Baseball fans are well aware of the long history that accompanies both the Chicago Cubs and Wrigley Field. Notable figures include the Wrigleyville Rooftops, Steve Bartman, Ronnie Woo Woo, the curse of the Billy Goat and the black cat from the 1969 World Series. One tradition that rarely gets mentioned is the flying of the “W flag” at Wrigley Field. Who came up with the idea? How did the tradition begin?

Exterior view of Citi Field, Home of the New York Mets 

Our staff was excited to finally visit Citi Field when we visited on June 13th, 2017 for a home game vs. the Chicago Cubs. “The New York Yankees are the better team but Citi Field is a better ballpark”. We had heard those same words from local New Yorkers over and over again during our trip to New York City and have come to the conclusion that they were correct (read our Yankee Stadium review). Citi Field is located many miles from the hustle and bustle of Manhattan and in working class Flushing Queens, New York. However, it is a gem of a ballpark with a much more raucous fan base than that of the New York Yankees.

Photo of Prince Night at Target Field during a Minnesota Twins game.

Image Credit: Mac H (CC BY-SA 2.0)

The Minnesota Twins will be honoring legendary musician and Minnesota native Prince tonight at Target Field. The Twins will be hosting the Cleveland Indians for the weekend series. The first 10,000 fans to the ballpark will receive a limited edition “Purple Rain” umbrella. Minnesota Twins players will also wear Prince t-shirts during batting practice which will be later auctioned off for charity.

Yankee Stadium, Home of the New York Yankees

Our staff was fortunate enough to visit new Yankee Stadium for the first time on June 11th, 2017 for a home game vs. the Baltimore Orioles. Let me reiterate how disappointed we will always be that we were never able to visit old Yankee Stadium before it’s doors were closed in 2008. In fact, we’re now convinced that old Yankee Stadium should have been preserved just like Wrigley Field and Fenway Park. Old Yankee Stadium had been home to the team since 1923; a completely different era of baseball.

Photo of the Safeco Field outfield sign at night. 

Image Credit: Richard Eriksson (CC BY 2.0)

The Seattle Mariners's home ballpark has been known as Safeco Field since the stadium first opened in 1999. Safeco Insurance, which is headquartered in Seattle, signed a 20-year naming rights deal in 1998 that will expire following the 2018 Major League Baseball season. Safeco Insurance has decided not to extend the current naming rights deal and the ballpark will operate a new name at the beginning of the 2019 Major League Baseball season.

Photo of KeyArena in Seattle, Washington. Former home of the Seattle Supersonics.

Image Credit: Daniel - Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

Seattle, Washington has been without an NBA team ever since 2008 when the Seattle Supersonics were relocated to Oklahoma City and became the Thunder. Since then, hedge fund entrepreneur Chris Hansen has been trying to privately finance a brand new arena to be built on a plot of land he owns in Seattle’s SODO district. The SODO District was a formerly an industrial area of the city and is now home to both SafeCo Field (Seattle Mariners) and CenturyLink Field (Seattle Seahawks).

Photo taken from the upper level of New Era Field during a Buffalo Bills game. 

Image Credit: Michael - Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

Just three years ago, the Buffalo Bills organization renovated New Era Field, formerly Ralph Wilson Stadium; a $130 million project. The team’s lease with the stadium will expire in 2023 and it is already the fourth oldest stadium in the NFL behind Soldier Field (Chicago Bears), Lambeau Field (Green Bay Packers) and Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (Los Angeles Rams). Talks for a new stadium have been sporadic but will likely pick up speed over the next two years.

Exterior photo of RFK Stadium. Former home of the Washington Nationals. 

RFK Stadium

Image Credit: Eddie Welker (CC BY 2.0)

The Washington Redskins organization has started discussing where to build their new home stadium. The Redskins play in one of the NFL’s largest markets and have played at the less than stellar Fedex Field since 1997. The team’s lease with the stadium is set to expire in 2027 and the team is making all efforts to allow for a timely construction of the stadium. Virginia politicians are attempting to lure the team to the Virginia side of the Washington, DC metro area although there are whispers that the site of RFK Stadium, the team’s former home, is the most desirable location.

Photo taken from the standing room only area at Chase Field during an Arizona Diamondbacks game. 

Image Credit: Ryan - Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

Both the Arizona Diamondbacks and Pittsburgh Pirates are now offering their fans subscription plans for home games during the 2017 Major League Baseball season. The program is called the ‘Ballpark Pass’ and requires the download of the MLB.com ballpark app so that tickets can be sent to each fan’s mobile device. The Oakland Athletics were the first team to experiment with a subscription plan for their fans and did see increased attendances using it. The Philadelphia Phillies, Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals have also experimented with similar subscription based plans.

Photo of rowdy Oakland Raiders fans at Oakland Coliseum.

Image Credit: Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)

The Oakland Raiders will be relocating to Las Vegas, Nevada in 2020. Despite the move, the Raiders organization has sold all of it’s season tickets for the 2017 NFL season. Many of you readers will assume that the move is a desperate last second attempt to keep the team in Oakland. Others probably think this is just a way for fans to create a few final memories at Oakland Coliseum before the team leaves Oakland in the rear view mirror. However, the true answer could be that the Oakland Raiders don’t suck anymore and a playoff appearance this season is highly likely assuming the team resembles last year’s team. The team has also added Marshawn Lynch, an Oakland native who is coming out of retirement.

Exterior photo of Bell MTS Place, home of the Winnipeg Jets.

Image Credit: WPG Guy

The MTS Centre, home of the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets, will be changing it’s name to the Bell MTS Place following Bell Canada’s acquisition of Manitoba Telecom Services. The acquisition was worth more than $3.5 Billion. The downtown arena was built in 2004 and has been home to the Winnipeg Jets since the team relocated from Atlanta, GA in 2011.