Venue News & Notes: FIFA Looks Past 2010

South Africa is in the midst of preparations for hosting the 2010 World Cup, but FIFA is already looking past next summer. Unless organizers take steps to guarantee future use, the federation is concerned that the stadiums being built for the World Cup will stand idle. With local rugby clubs showing little or no interest in using the grounds, locals fear that the cities will be left with stadiums that no one will use, as has happened in Olympic host cities over the years.

FIFA is concerned that some of the stadiums being built in South Africa for next year’s World Cup will remain idle afterward unless organizers take steps to guarantee future use. A 90,000-seat stadium in Durban and another 68,000-seater in Cape Town are taking shape a year ahead of the first World Cup to be held in Africa. Impressively designed, they will host the semifinals as well as games earlier in the 64-game competition…

…Developer Bruce Ratner will pay the Metropolitan Transportation Authority $20 million up front and another $80 million in installments for the right to use land it owns to build a basketball arena in Brooklyn. Originally, Ratner was to pay the MTA $100 million upon closing for development rights to rail yards it owns. Under the deal presented to the MTA Finance Committee on Monday, Ratner will pay $20 million at closing and then make additional payments until 2031…

…The University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, AZ, home of the Arizona Cardinals, is feeling the effects of the recession. Lobbyist Jaime Molera told The Arizona Guardian that the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority, formed nine years ago to build and operate the stadium, could be out of money before the Cardinals host the Houston Texans Oct. 11. When Maricopa County voters approved a 1¢ sales-tax increase and a rental-car tax to fund the sports authority in November 2000, one of the selling points touted non-football aspects — such as youth sports and tourism promotion…

…When the Atlanta Braves decided to move their top minor-league team from Richmond, VA’s rundown stadium to a new place in Gwinnett County, GA, they wanted to make sure history wouldn’t repeat itself. So they negotiated hard to ensure that the Gwinnett stadium would be kept in top-notch condition — at county cost. If it isn’t, the deal could allow the Braves to pull their team out of the stadium after 15 years, leaving Gwinnett an empty ballpark halfway through the county’s debt payments. Next year, the Braves will move their Class AAA team from a 22-year-old stadium in Richmond to a $45 million ballpark to be built by Gwinnett near the Mall of Georgia…

…A new $238 million arena in downtown Louisville, KY, is on schedule to open in 2010, officials say. A concrete floor collapsed at the site seven weeks ago, and an investigation determined that a subcontractor incorrectly installed support posts and did not install 22 additional posts. As a result, officials have added more inspectors to oversee concrete pours and created additional procedures to make sure the pours are done correctly…

…A two-year, $250 million renovation project has changed the look, the atmosphere, and the conditions at Kansas City, MO’s Kauffman Stadium, which opened in 1973 as Royals Stadium. Staid Kauffman is no more, replaced by a free-form park in which fans are encouraged to participate in the show. “It used to be like we were playing in a library here,” says Royals outfielder David DeJesus. “It’s different now. You can talk back and forth with the fans and hear them cheer you. It’s a lot louder and a lot more fun.”