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 Time Warner Cable Arena. Home of the Charlotte Hornets.

Image Credit: James Willamor (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Professional basketball has been through the wringer in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Charlotte Hornets originally vacated for New Orleans in 2002. Charlotte's WNBA team, the Sting, folded in 2007. The old Charlotte Coliseum was demolished and Time Warner Cable Arena was erected. The Charlotte Bobcats reappeared in 2004 as an expansion team and performed terribly for many years. Michael Jordan purchased a stake in the team in 2010 and basketball fans became more optimistic about their future. Jordan changed the name of the franchise's name back to the Hornets with the hopes of giving the organization a face-lift and new feel. And now, Time Warner Cable Arena is changing it's name to the Spectrum Center in light of a $55 billion merger.

Aerial photo of Nationals Park. Home of the Washington Nationals.

Image Credit: PingNews.com (CC BY-SA 2.0)

If you're a Washington Nationals fan that took pride in the fact that your favorite team didn't play in a stadium named after a large corporation, well, you won't like this news. Ted Lerner and family are exploring the idea of striking a deal that would put a sponsor's name on the ballpark in time for the 2017 MLB season. The Washington Nationals organization originally tried to sell the ballpark's naming rights in 2008 when the venue first opened but were unsuccessful. 

Photo of the outfield scoreboard at U.S. Cellular Field. Home of the Chicago White Sox.

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

U.S. Cellular Field, home ballpark of the Chicago White Sox, has changed it's name to Guaranteed Rate Field and many baseball fans on the south side aren't happy. The deal is worth less than the previous deal with telecommunications company U.S. Cellular. The sponsorship agreement with Guaranteed Rate will pay the Chicago White Sox $25 million for thirteen years or about $2 million per season, far below the league average. The name change became official on November 1st, 2017.

Exterior photo of the First Niagara Center. Home of the Buffalo Sabres.

Image Credit: Elmar78

In today's fast paced world of professional sports, it's become the norm for a large corporation to purchase the naming rights to a stadium or arena. The fans seem to hate the trend, however, these sponsorship agreements provide a steady stream of revenue for the sports organizations. The agreement also provides the corporation with a unique branding opportunity; a win-win for both parties. The home arena of the NHL's Buffalo Sabres has endured yet another name change. 

Metlife Stadium, Home of the New York Jets 

In case you haven't already noticed, the National Football League is a money making machine. Whether it's through ticket sales, merchandise, fantasy football, television deals or corporate sponsors, the company is making money at every turn. Corporations throughout the United States have taken advantage of the league's popularity by purchasing the naming rights to the majority of the league's 31 NFL stadiums. This move nets each team millions of dollars in additional revenue each season. 

The Palace of Auburn Hills, Home of the Detroit Pistons 

Since the turn of the century, large corporations have spent more than $5 billion on sponsorship agreements with professional sports teams in North America. And who could blame them? Why wouldn't you want your brand plastered all over stadiums and arenas with capacities of between 15,000 and 80,000 fans. Not to mention the notoriety these venues receive on television when live games are broadcast. Sports is big business in North America. 

Exterior View of Rogers Place, Home of the Edmonton Oilers

Naming rights deals for stadiums and arenas are one of the safest and steadiest forms of long term revenue for professional sports teams. With the explosion of the National Hockey League's popularity over the last ten or so years, fans can expect to see the naming rights agreements for NHL arenas to become larger and larger both in incentive and length. 

Center Field Gate at Nationals Park in Washington DC, Home of the Washington Nationals

Major League Baseball fans love traveling the country and scoping out all of the ballparks that the league has to offer. They enjoy seeing the dimensions of the field and stadium, the variety in stadium capacity, the differences in fan culture, the landscape surrounding the ballpark, etc. In case you haven't already noticed, the majority of Major League ballparks are named after a corporation. We know. You hate corporations and in most cases, the local taxpayers paid for the bulk of a stadium's construction costs and should have some say in the name. However, Major League Baseball franchises are leaving millions of dollars in extra revenue on the table by not forming sponsorship agreements with corporations.

Photo taken from a seat at Wrigley Field that obstructs home plate.

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

Part of what makes Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs, so charming is that it's an old ballpark built in a completely different era of time. It also has a ton of history. No, the Chicago Cubs haven't always been a dominant franchise on the field. However, there are few that will disagree that Wrigley Field easily provides baseball fans with the ultimate Major League Baseball experience. That is, unless you purchase the wrong seats. Here is a breakdown of the worst seats at Wrigley Field.

Photo of obstructed view seats at Fenway Park during a Boston Red Sox game.

Image Credit: Eric Kilby (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox, is arguably Major League Baseball’s most beloved ballpark. It’s old, it’s quirky, it’s historic and it’s located on the festive Yawkey Way in Boston’s Kenmore neighborhood. It's also the only ballpark in Major League Baseball with wooden seats. However, many baseball fans often aren’t too thrilled when they arrive at their seats for the game, only to find out that their view of the field is obstructed. It’s annoying and it’s happened to me before at Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts. Our staff wanted to do our best to help educate baseball fans on the worst seats at Fenway Park. Here is the breakdown.

Photo taken during a Golden State Warriors game at Oracle Arena.

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

Banking and financial services giant JPMorgan Chase have purchased the naming rights to the future home arena of the Golden State Warriors. The arena will be known as the "Chase Center" and will debut at the start of the 2019-2020 NBA season. The terms of the deal were not disclosed although many anticipate the deal to easily be in excess of $100 million. JPMorgan Chase already owns the naming rights to Chase Field, home of the MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks.  

Photo of the Little Caesars Arena construction in downtown Detroit, Michigan.  

Image Credit: Rick Briggs (CC BY-SA 2.0)

The Detroit Red Wings will move out of the storied Joe Louis Arena in 2017 and into new their digs; Little Caesars Arena in downtown Detroit, Michigan. The naming rights deal with Little Caesars was recently completed which will net the Red Wings organization $125 million over a 20 year period - just a little over $6 million per season. For those of you that don't already know, the Illitch family owns both the Detroit Red Wings and Little Caesars Pizza as well as Olympia Entertainment. The parent company; Illitch Holdings was founded in Detroit in 1999 by Mike and Marian Illitch. 

Photo of the main entrance at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Home of the Denver Broncos.

Image Credit: TheLastCanadian (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The Denver Broncos organization have officially dropped Sports Authority Field from their home stadium's name. Until a new naming rights deal is completed, the stadium will be known as Mile High Stadium. Sports Authority purchased the stadium's naming rights in 2011 after being previously known as Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium. The original Mile High Stadium stood on the same site as the current stadium and was the home to the Denver Broncos from 1960 to 2000. 

Exterior photo of Hard Rock Stadium. Home of the Miami Dolphins.

Image Credit: A.J. Lipp (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Hospitality giant Hard Rock International has purchased the naming rights to the Miami Dolphins' home stadium, formerly named Sun Life Stadium. The naming rights deal with Sun Life Financial expired in January of 2016. The deal is reported to run for 18 seasons at a sale of $250 million; just a little under $14 million per season. Miami Dolphins fans will be able to visit Hard Rock Stadium on August 29th at 1 PM for an open practice and first hand look.

Photo of an empty Ralph Wilson Stadium. Home of the Buffalo Bills. 

Image Credit: Mike Cardus (CC BY 2.0)

Ralph Wilson Stadium has been the home of the Buffalo Bills since 1973 and is the sixth oldest stadium in the National Football League. As of yesterday, the Buffalo Bills organization will change the stadium's name to New Era Stadium or a similar name for the 2016 NFL season after selling the stadium's naming rights to New Era Cap Company. At the time of it's founding, the stadium was named after Rich Products, a local food company. The stadium changed it's name to Ralph Wilson Stadium in 1998 in honor of Ralph Wilson, the long time owner of the Buffalo Bills. 

Photo of Sacramento Kings players on the court during a game versus the Orlando Magic. 

Image Credit: Michael Tipton (CC BY-SA 2.0)

The NBA's Sacramento Kings will be debuting at the brand new Golden 1 Center on October 10th, 2016, when they host Maccabi Haifa B.C., a professional basketball team for Israel. Both Sacramento residents and the Kings organization have been longing for a new arena for the Sacramento Kings for quite some time. From 1988 to 2016, the Kings played their home games at ARCO Arena which later changed it's name to Power Balance Pavilion and then Sleep Train Arena. Arco Arena, however, was located in the suburb of Natomas which wasn't a location that could bolster attendance for home games.

Exterior photo of Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Home of the Los Angeles Rams.

Image Credit: Anthony Kernich (CC BY 2.0)

The Kroenke Group and it's subsidiary Hollywood Park Land Company have chosen AECOM and Turner Construction Company to build the new home stadium for the Los Angeles Rams. Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke uprooted the Rams from St. Louis and moved them back to the West Coast following the 2015 NFL season. The city of St. Louis was unable to secure a plan for a new stadium in downtown St. Louis. In the meantime, the Los Angeles Rams will play at their old home, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, until the new stadium is completed. Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is the current home of the USC Trojans football team and is the former home of the Los Angeles Raiders. The Coliseum is one of the most historic venues in football. 

Exterior photo of T-Mobile Arena. Home of the NHL's Vegas Golden Knights.

Image Credit: David Jones (CC BY 2.0)

I've always said it's hard for sports fans to get excited for hockey when it's 100 degrees outside. The NHL isn't working in Phoenix and the Arizona Coyotes could soon relocate to another city. Hockey didn't work in Atlanta, Georgia; twice. The Florida Panthers in Miami consistently lead the NHL in the league's lowest attendance. Could Las Vegas, Nevada be the exception to this trend when the NHL expands to 31 teams for the 2017 season? Only time will tell. The team's nickname will be decided on in September of 2016 and the team will play at the brand new T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas strip. 

Exterior photo of T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Home of the Vegas Golden Knights.

Image Credit: Prayitno/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

T-Mobile Arena is a brand new $375 million multi-purpose arena on the Las Vegas Strip. It is also home to the 31st and newest expansion NHL team. If you're like me, you've always been skeptical of the idea that Sin City could lure a professional sports franchise. There's no way team owners and investors will go for it. Too many outside entities would want a piece of the action. The city has too many transplanted residents for there to be loyal and dedicated season ticket base. The city doesn't have the population. You don't want the ugly underbelly of the gambling world to have close access to professional athletes. There were just too many indicators that professional sports in Las Vegas just couldn't work out. It appears I was wrong; at least for now. 

Photo of the Fort Bragg baseball stadium in North Carolina.

Image Credit: Wikimedia

Major League Baseball made a very touching tribute to America's military this past 4th of July weekend while celebrating our nation's Independence. The league gave servicemen and women stationed in Fort Bragg, North Carolina the opportunity to see a Major League game on base between the Atlanta Braves and Miami Marlins. The event marked the first time a professional sporting event has taken place on a military base. The land, formerly a golf course, was transitioned into a 12,500 seat baseball stadium in just over 100 days. The field will remain and continue to be utilized by the military base which is the largest in the United States with 53,000 active military members and over 250,000 residents. 

Photo of the roof opening at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas. 

Image Credit: J Dimas (CC BY 2.0)

In Major League Baseball, there are "hitter's ballparks" and then there are "pitcher's ballparks". A hitter's ballpark is characterized as a ballpark that benefits hitter's more so than pitcher's and as a result, tends to give up more offense and home runs. On the flip side, a pitcher's ballpark tends to have extremely deep outfields and foul territories that keep the ball in play more often. Our staff decided to crunch some numbers and determine which Major League ballparks tend to give up the least amount of home runs season to season. Of the ballparks that made the list, let's just say that we weren't surprised in our findings and that the usual suspects comprised our list. See if your favorite team's stadium made the list!