Facility Notes

In Phoenix, Kent Somers reports the NFL Cardinals practiced in the new Cardinals Stadium for the first time Saturday, and the “building was the star of the workout.” Cardinals LB Gerald Hayes said, “I loved it. ... There was not just one thing that stood out because everything stood out.” Somers notes the playing surface also drew “rave reviews” (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 8/8).

STRETCH RUN: In Louisville, Jeffrey Lee Puckett reports about 50,000 reserved-seat tickets will be sold for a Rolling Stones concert at Churchill Downs on September 29, near the facility’s seating capacity of 52,000. The stage, which is three stories tall and features an extended catwalk, will be in the infield facing the grandstand. A limited number of $300 seats will be available on the turf along the catwalk. Churchill Downs President Steve Sexton did not disclose terms of the deal, but said, “We received what we think is fair” (Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL, 8/8).

NOT A FAN: In DC, Thomas Boswell writes of the plans to build two 13-story multi-use towers beyond the outfield fence of the new Nationals ballpark, “Some ideas are so dumb you assume they’ll collapse of their own weight. ... The whole project has the feeling of such a slapdash last-minute Mayor-plus-developer-driven compromise that the project may fall apart. We can only hope so” (WASHINGTON POST, 8/8).