Venue News: Brazil’s Confederations Cup Stadiums Near Completion; DePaul University To Build Basketball Arena in Chicago

Compiled by Karen Hogan, Associate Editor, Sports Video Group

Ready or not, the warm-up for next year’s World Cup — the Confederations Cup — begins in a month at six stadiums across Brazil. It will be the first major international football tournament in this vast South American country since the 1950 World Cup. Many will be watching to see if Brazil can handle this modest eight-team tournament, and then the full focus will turn to next year’s 32-team World Cup. Six new or renovated stadiums are in various states of readiness for the Confederations Cup. Six additional ones will be used for next year’s World Cup, and none is ready yet…

…After more than three decades spent playing in the suburbs, DePaul basketball is finally getting its own place in the city. On Thursday, Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel announced plans for a new 10,000-seat arena that will serve as the home floor for DePaul men’s and women’s basketball. Construction on the facility is scheduled to begin in 2014, and the school is hoping to open in time for the 2016-17 season. The $173 million arena will be built across the street from McCormick Place — the largest convention center in North America — in the city’s Near South Side neighborhood. The school will pay rent at the building but will retain naming rights and permanent internal and external signage space…

…Sports Authority Field at Mile High — home to the NFL’s Denver Broncos — is planning to go after a future Super Bowl, and is upgrading its digital signage as part of the effort of improving the overall stadium experience. While stadium executives say the ongoing $30 million renovations aren’t tied directly to the city’s and the arena’s Super Bowl bid, having the most up-to-date fan experience possible certainly isn’t going to hurt. In addition to larger high-definition LED video boards and ribbon displays in the stadium bowl and digital signage screens in the stadium concourses, Sports Authority Field concessionaire Centerplate also is upgrading the stadium’s concession digital menu boards with the help of Ping HD…

…Miami and San Francisco are the finalists for the 50th Super Bowl, to be played in 2016. The loser will compete against Houston for the 51st. San Francisco and Houston are considered the favorites. But Miami — until a few weeks ago the favorite to land the 50th game — will loom over the vote, wondering if it is in danger of joining San Diego as a favored sun-drenched Super Bowl site handicapped by its stadium. South Florida, which has hosted 10 Super Bowls and remains one of the league’s preferred destinations, quickly emerged as the favorite. But that favorite’s status was largely contingent on improvements by the Dolphins to Sun Life Stadium, opened in 1987. Although the Dolphins said the stadium needed $350 million in improvements to make it competitive in the Super Bowl market, including a canopy to shield spectators from sun and rain, the team owner Stephen Ross has made it clear he is unwilling to pay the entire bill himself…

…A Boston development team wants to build a pair of towers in front of TD Garden that could reach 600 feet in height, creating a gateway for the arena with stores and restaurants, 500 residences, offices, and a 200-room hotel. The project, by Delaware North Cos. and Boston Properties, would dramatically reshape the area around the Garden and North Station. At 1.7 million square feet, it would be among the largest developments in the city, adding shopping, dining, and living options to an iconic sports property. The developers submitted an outline to the Boston Redevelopment Authority Thursday. They must undergo a monthslong review process but indicated they hope to start construction early­ next year.