Facility Notes
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MLB To Award Mets Upcoming
All-Star Game For Citi Field |
In N.Y., Adam Rubin reports the Mets have "been pledged" an MLB All-Star Game at their new Citi Field ballpark, "most likely" in 2013. Mets VP/Media Relations Jay Horwitz: "We were informed by [MLB Commissioner Bud Selig] that after moving into Citi Field, we would have an All-Star Game, but no date has been set." The Yankees will host the '08 All-Star Game on July 15 to mark the final season in Yankee Stadium (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 3/14). The Cardinals will host the '09 All-Star Game, and although no future locations have been announced, the Angels are the "likely host" for the 2010 game while the D'Backs are in line for 2011 and the Royals for 2012 (AP, 3/13).
QUICK TURNOVER: In Cleveland, Jodie Valade reports in a span of 96 hours last weekend, the floor surface at Quicken Loans Arena (QLA) changed six times for seven events in four days. Valade notes that "could become typical for this time of year" at QLA as the arena added the AFL Gladiators and AHL Lake Erie Monsters to its schedule, joining the Cavaliers. QLA VP/Operations Pat Fitzgerald: "I just worry about when they're going to try to fit three or four events in one day. We could do it because we have great people." Fitzgerald added that between 60-100 people "make each conversion, depending on which surfaces are being used" (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 3/14).
CROWDED SEATS: Ford Field and the Univ. of Detroit Mercy on March 28 and 30 are hosting the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament's Midwest Regional, the first regional games played in Detroit, and to date more than 49,000 tickets have been sold. Estimated capacity at Ford Field will be around 72,800, and the games are "expected to shatter the attendance record" for an NCAA Regional. The record for a regional game is 42,519 for a '99 Michigan State-Kentucky game at the Trans World Dome in St. Louis (DETROIT NEWS, 3/14).
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