Venue News & Notes: No iPads at Yankee Stadium

According to Apple’s latest commercial, “iPad goes anywhere” — anywhere, that is, except Yankee Stadium. Yahoo Sports confirmed with the stadium that the iPad falls under its “no laptops” security policy, and patrons won’t be able to enter the ballpark with one in their possession. Say what? The TSA says that you don’t have to take an iPad out of its case to go through security, but Yankee Stadium says the device is a no-go…

…After several months of planning, campaigning, arm-twisting, brainstorming, and problem solving, it comes down to a 15-minute presentation. It’s the fourth quarter, and Team New York smells victory. On Tuesday, in a hotel ballroom in Dallas, the New York teams — Giants and Jets — will make their bid to co-host the 2014 Super Bowl at the New Meadowlands Stadium. By rule, they have only 15 minutes to convince the other owners that New York/New Jersey is the best place for the NFL’s showcase event. Fifteen minutes to make enough people believe that it’s cool to be cold…

…As the U.S. men’s soccer team prepares to play in the World Cup, other Americans are competing to bring that tournament back to their homeland. The USA joins 10 other nations bidding for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. FIFA, soccer’s international governing body, will announce the sites for both events on Dec. 2. Being chosen “would be the ultimate verification that we, in fact, are a powerful and passionate soccer country,” said MLS Commissioner Don Garber, one of the bid committee’s 22 board members…

…South African President Jacob Zuma cut a ribbon on the pitch and declared the venue open before the kickoff of the South African FA Cup final. A flypast of five fighter jets marked a spectacular start, although the noise of the aircraft dipping low over the venue was almost drowned out by the cacophony of vuvuzelas, the plastic trumpets blown incessantly by the crowd. The stadium was half empty for the ceremony an hour before kickoff, as thousands of fans battled traffic congestion that led to the final’s being delayed by 30 minutes…

…Atlanta Falcons President Rich McKay said this week the team wants a new stadium within seven years, but it doesn’t appear the Georgia Dome is going away. Frank Poe, executive director of the Georgia World Congress Center, which manages the Georgia Dome, told the Associated Press on Friday that the facility may be renovated but won’t be torn down. He said the dome simply is too valuable as a revenue producer. Poe said a new open-air stadium for the Falcons would complement, not replace, the Georgia Dome, which opened in 1992…

…With just two weeks to go before the election, the San Francisco 49ers are pulling out all the stops — and $3 million-$4 million in cash — to try to pass their Santa Clara, CA, stadium plan. Here’s the math: roughly 23,000 Santa Clarans — or half the city’s registered voters — are expected to cast ballots on Measure J in the June 8 election. So the Niners have to score 11,500 plus one to win. That works out to upwards of $300 for each vote they’ll need — or roughly six times what billionaire Meg Whitman is spending to try to capture the Republican gubernatorial nomination.