Venue News & Notes: Sony Is Yankee Stadium’s Latest Tech Partner

To ensure
that the new Yankee Stadium is outfitted with state-of-the-art technology from
the front gate to the foul poles, the
Yankees have teamed up with Sony Electronics in a new corporate marketing
and high-definition technology relationship. Plans are for the new Yankee
Stadium, set to open April 16 vs. the Cleveland Indians, to have a Sony HD
broadcast control room; more than 550 flat-panel BRAVIA and professional LCD HD
television sets in the luxury suites, lounges, concourses, restaurants and
administrative offices; plus Sony HD branding elements featured prominently
throughout the stadium…

…Standing
in mud and dust, often straining to be heard above the rat-a-tat-tat of
concrete drills, Kansas City Royals officials said this week they’re confident
that Kauffman
Stadium will be ready for opening day. Whenever the massive $250 million
renovation project does get finished, fans will hardly recognize the place…

…The University of Illinois is indefinitely delaying plans to build a new basketball arena or refurbish
the 46-year-old Assembly Hall, blaming the sour economy. Illinois had planned to decide whether to
rebuild or replace the on-campus arena by the end of 2008, but Athletic
Director Ron Guenther decided to wait after meeting with university Chancellor
Richard Herman…

…Waukegan aldermen voted
this week to hire a company to look at the feasibility of building a minor
league baseball stadium at the south end of the city’s downtown. Aldermen
debated whether a baseball stadium would be viable and could survive in Waukegan, which has been
working for years to revive its downtown with mixed results…

…Developer
Bruce Ratner is considering scaling back his ambitious plan for a $1 billion Frank
Gehry-designed arena for the New Jersey Nets basketball team in downtown Brooklyn. Gehry’s design has been one of Ratner’s major
selling points as he has battled neighborhood residents and pressed government
officials for approvals and subsidies. But now, with the recession and credit
crisis in full swing, the Nets and Ratner are exploring new concepts for the
arena that would transform it from an architectural masterpiece into a much
less expensive and much more traditional sports venue…