Venue News: Seattle Arena Plans Face Opposition; Texas HS To Open $60M Stadium

Compiled by Karen Hogan, Associate Editor, Sports Video Group

Port of Seattle commissioners on Tuesday passed a motion in opposition of the pending agreement to build a new sports arena in Sodo, saying the city should conduct a comprehensive study before committing public funds to the project. With their motion, the commissioners unanimously made official their concerns that a new arena south of Safeco Field would result in extra traffic in the area, clogging trucking routes, raising shipping costs and causing customers to move operations to other ports. Though the port and maritime industry community are able to accomodate the current number of sporting events at the stadiums in Sodo, adding another arena could be “the straw that breaks the camel’s back,” Commissioner John Creighton said during a commissioners meeting Tuesday at the Port of Seattle headquarters at Pier 69…

…As far as seating capacity, there are bigger football stadiums than the 18,000-seat fortress Allen High School will unveil this fall. After all, this is Texas. The new Eagle Stadium, located in a booming suburb just north of Dallas, will merely rank fifth in the state among facilities used for Friday night football on a weekly basis. But it’s that $60 million price tag – $59.6 million, to be exact – that raises eyebrows even in a state where high school football is an obsession. Allen raised the money for its new stadium as part of a $119.4 million bond package in May of 2009 that passed with 63.66% of the vote. Even with such support, there have been critics who say spending $60 million on a football stadium is outrageous at a time when education budgets are being slashed…

…ANC Sports Enterprises was selected by Brigham Young University to transform the atmosphere at LaVell Edwards Stadium with a new video display system including two high-definition video screens measuring 35 feet high by 50 feet wide. The signage system will be unveiled prior to the Cougars’ first home game this season against Washington State on Thursday, August 30. Highlighted by two ANC Sports’ 16mm surface mount LED video screens, the new display system will fill the 63,470-seat stadium with live action, replays, game animations, team logos, student athlete features and real-time statistics. The video screens are being manufactured with the newest outdoor surface mount technology that includes higher pixel densities than traditional lamp LED displays, creating sharper, clearer imagery…

…Colorado State University could open a stadium on campus three years from this month, according to committee findings delivered to President Tony Frank. Cost of the stadium is estimated at $246 million. Other components, including a “long-awaited” alumni center, parking and changes to CSU’s Plant Environmental Center, could cost an additional $51 million; though, this is part of “cursory work” that will be followed by “more accurate cost estimates.” Top priority is raising funds from private donors, with the goal of garnering $45 million to $220 million, according to projections. Corporate sponsorships and naming rights, premium seating and facilities rentals, among other sources, could generate $11 million to $18 million.