Venue News & Notes: Making a Comeback

This week s venue news seemed to center on the comeback theme. Bruce Ratner s development plans for the soon-to-be Brooklyn Nets are finally back on track, football is returning to RFK Stadium for the first bowl game of the 2009 season, and the Florida Marlins new stadium should be back in business after a favorable court ruling.
…The developer Bruce C. Ratner has told state and city officials that he plans to break ground in December on his long-delayed $4 billion Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn, which will feature thousands of apartments and offices in 16 towers built around a glamorous basketball arena for the Nets…
…The EagleBank Bowl, the first NCAA-sanctioned college football postseason bowl game to be played in the District of Columbia, will kick off Dec. 20 at 11 a.m. at RFK Stadium. RFK Stadium has not hosted a football game since 2001, but it is equipped to handle the game, says Troy Scott, stadium manager for the D.C. Sports & Entertainment Commission…
…The Florida Marlins cleared a major hurdle in their bid to get a new stadium this week when a judge ruled the proposed tax-supported facility would serve a public purpose, giving her no right to overturn the decision of the elected officials who approved it…
…If Oklahoma State s new Boone Pickens Stadium really seats 60,000, it would have been hard to find the empty 15,000 seats on Saturday. The architecture of the new stadium is stunning for the way it hides empty seats…
…Durham Bulls Athletic Park in Durham, NC, will be the site of the 2009 Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Championship. The 10,000-seat downtown stadium is home to the city’s Triple-A team and will serve as the host venue for the 13-game tournament May 20-24…
… A free outdoor sports venue has opened in East London as part of a 1 million drive to get young people involved in sport ahead of the 2012 Olympics. A further four venues are planned in fellow 2012 host boroughs Greenwich, Hackney, Newham, and Waltham Forest…
…In an attempt to curb violence at soccer matches, Serie A president Antonio Matarrese wants jail cells built at Italian stadiums…
…AEG Facilities Inc., the nation’s second-largest concert, sports, and live-entertainment production company, has acquired a controlling interest in the San Diego Sports Arena. Arena improvements are planned for the city-owned, 67-acre site.