Grand Opening of Red Bull Arena - Part 1

So the video is halfway done as there's a ton I have to sort through, but unfortunately, some family matters and school work have come up.

Until the video is completed, here is a slideshow along with The Perpetual Post piece on Red Bull Arena from myself and Howard Megdal.

Perpetually Posting

Ladies & gents, check me out!

This week, there'll be a lot of Perpetual Post work this week. Tonight, I'll jump onto another podcast, discussing NFL free agency with Chris Pummer. Chris and I will bring the discourse to text tomorrow on the site.

Later this week, I will be covering Opening Night for Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ. In addition to talking about the stadium's atmosphere and structure for TPP, I will also give you the first new Scribe video for 2010. For those who didn't see the previous look during its construction, check out last spring's post.

Next week, we will roll out divisional previews. I'll join the conversations on the National League East and Central along with the American League Central.

Finally, in relation to Scribe, your next roundtable is coming later this week; this time, the focus is shifted to the NHL. If you have yet to check out last week's NBA roundtable, do yourself a favor and take time to read parts one and two.

Now, before you ask about college basketball, anyone who has been on this space knows that there's not much said about the game. Last year, for the first time since I could remember television, I didn't tune in for one second of the men's tournament (I did watch the women's final, however). Also, for the third straight year, I did not fill out a bracket.

Because of personal preferences and a rather unwelcoming experience covering a Big East game four years ago, I've pretty much shut myself away from the amateur game. However, as some have noticed on Twitter, I have been asking for NBA prospects that I should keep an eye on. It's understandable that some out there may not like this stance, but considering how little I've seen of John Wall and how I just learned who Evan Turner is, I figured this would be a good time to turn into the game with some interest.

I just hope for you Kentucky fans that John Calipari doesn't get another coaching brainfreeze as he did two years ago for Memphis.

Say What?!?!: Speaking of March Madness, if you missed this month's edition of Norman Einstein's Magazine, take a walk with me and Rodney Brown.

Bullish (II)

If you didn't take the time to check Scribe over the weekend, hard to blame you.

En route to see some family yesterday for summer's last gasp, I passed by Harrison, New Jersey and was able to take a few pictures of the ongoing Red Bull Arena project.

Earlier this year, you were given a glimpse of the soccer-specific stadium outside of Newark as the skeleton was near completion. It appears that the exterior is not too far away from completion.

For those of you who live near a newer soccer facility, how much of a difference does this kind of stadium make as opposed to those who share a site with another sport?

Bullish (I)

Spring has been rather reluctant to show itself in much of the country, yet after gray skies, puddled potholes and schitzophrenic temperatures, today seemed to be a good day for a quick trip.

To Harrison, New Jersey.

You're probably wondering what would possess me to trek down from Harlem to Harrison while Houston's Aaron Brooks and Shane Battier were giving the Los Angeles Lakers whiplash. Well, again, it was a nice day outside, even with the wind and figuring that the next few weeks will bring about nothing but insanity and fatigue, I figured that this was as good of a time as any to check out the quiet-as-its-kept building going up in my backyard.

Red Bull New York, the organization that owns the New York Red Bulls (formerly the New York/New Jersey MetroStars), is overseeing the construction of a brand-new 25,000-seat soccer-specific stadium. Red Bull Arena has been in the making for at least a decade as the team plays its home games at the soon-to-be-rubble Giants Stadium. The NFL stadium is far too big for a MLS team as the sport does not have the fan bases of the long-entrenched major leagues here. However, MLS' unique business model has allowed for the league to have tremendous and intimate control over individual team resources. In turn, controlling costs attracted outside investors in hopes of not only gate profits, but greater barganing chips in terms of stadium finances.

So here's a glimpse of the skeleton of the Arena. My hopes are to get a closer look as the Arena's completion date nears and the area surrounding it becomes far more developed than what you will see here.



Here are a few links that will tell you more about this new (and privately-funded, apparently) building going up.

• Red Bull Arena website
  
  
• Red Bull Arena video update
  
  
• Red Bull Arena webcam
  
  
• Red Bull Arena Wiki

Say What?!?!: Sticking with the Red Bulls, I figured that this would be the perfect time to bring up the best (or worst, depending on your view) celebration you have never seen. Just over three years ago when DC United came to play RBNY at Giants Stadium, Alecko Eskandarian displayed what is possibly the single most wonderfully insulting celebrations in American sports history. However, outside of a reference on ESPN's Pardon the Interruption and the beat reporters for the teams, you probably never heard about it. Many thanks to Paul Bracher of The Endless Blog for providing the visual excellence.

Swamplands

For those of you reading and viewing this who are not from the New York City metropolitan area, there's a reason why it seems that there's a ton of hoopla around sports beyond wins and losses.

While the rest of the world, particularly the United States, had new stadiums and arenas built for their sports teams over the past two decades, northeastern depots like Boston, Philadelphia, Washington and New York were slow to replace their facilities. For various reasons - be political, economic or based on an area's physical infrastructure and space - these cities that were long known for higher-income white-collar jobs, large populations and even larger sports appetites were suddenly trying to out-do smaller cities such as Phoenix, San Jose, Cleveland and Denver in having the most modern amenities for their teams.

Then three of those northeast cities (Boston, Philadelphia and Washington) opened new arenas for their NBA and NHL franchises (TD Banknorth Garden in 1995, Wachovia Center in 1996, Verizon Center in 1997). They followed with new baseball and football stadiums later in the decade and into the 2000s (though Fenway Park has being undergoing selective renovations to add capacity). It seemed as if New York was not just falling behind the rest of the country, but their regional rivals.

And so, it leads us to an unprecedented time in the area's history as three outdoor facilities are being erected at once. Not since Shea Stadium was built forty years ago has there been a new major league outdoor stadium in the area (Arthur Ashe Stadium across the street from Shea is a tennis facility completed in 1997 and it appears that the MLS' Red Bulls have their version of the 'Bridge to Nowhere'). Earlier this summer, you got a look at the new Yankee Stadium and CitiField; both baseball stadiums being constructed for a 2009 opening. Now, here's a brief glimpse at the new home for the Giants and Jets, which is slated to open for the 2010 season.

Welcome to the new and potentially improved swamplands.

New Meadowlands Stadium