10 SEP 06: THIS OLD HOUSE?
Did we forget to celebrate something in Columbus this year? The Civic Center just marked its tenth anniversary. You might be able to fill it halfway, simply with the sports teams which have come and gone since it opened....
I was reminded of the Civic Center's anniversary the other day, as I considered a surprising comment by the owner of the Atlanta Falcons. Arthur Blank told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution it's time to plan for a new home football stadium, to replace the Georgia Dome. What does he propose doing with the dome - filling it with aquarium water, too?
The Atlanta Falcons open a new season today, and will play home games in the Georgia Dome for the 15th year. Yet Arthur Blank says it's already time to plan for a replacement?! Does he realize how many of those seats went unused for several years, when the team had losing records?
Arthur Blank explains domed stadiums get more of a workout than other football stadiums, so the Georgia Dome is rather old at 14 years. Maybe it's needed more Billy Graham campaigns, and fewer appearances by T.D. Jakes.
I went to the Falcons' final game at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in December 1991. The Falcons beat Seattle, getting a safety on quarterback Kelly Stouffer. And I had field-level seats in a corner of the end zone - which allowed me to see part of the game, once the people in the rows in front of me finally decided to sit down.
The Georgia Dome was built in part to remove bad sight lines from the old baseball/football stadium - and in part to keep former Falcons owner Rankin Smith from moving the team to Jacksonville. I suppose nowadays, Arthur Blank could threaten to move the Falcons to Los Angeles. Uh-oh -- come to think of it, there's already a stadium there with the "Home Depot" name on it.
The Atlanta Falcons are under contract to play in the Georgia Dome until 2020, or until the bonds for the stadium are paid off. After that, Arthur Blank wants a new downtown stadium with a retractable roof. I remember the August night when a thunderstorm put a hole in the dome's roof - but no one was forward-thinking then.
(In fact, I noticed the hole in the roof as I went to work at CNN Center on a Sunday morning, and told the newsroom staff about it. But it wasn't considered a network news story until an Atlanta TV station showed up to shoot videotape of it. They handled anti-war protests outside CNN Center the same way -- too busy watching the world to notice their own neighborhood.)
Philips Arena opened near the Georgia Dome only seven years ago, replacing the Omni for basketball and hockey. Now Atlanta needs a new football stadium?! Why not simply hire a firm full-time, to keep building sports complexes? Football first, then baseball to replace Turner Field, then basketball again....
I mention all this to wonder if Columbus city officials are thinking way ahead, as Arthur Blank is. Has any thought been given about the next generation of sports arenas and stadiums? Do we have to wait for the Cottonmouths to threaten a move to.... well, the AF2 league moved to Albany, and is doing all right....
Some people say while "historic Golden Park" is historic, it's in a bad location at South Commons. Should a new baseball stadium be built on the north side of Columbus? Should it be built on the grounds of the Northern Little League - so that organization doesn't threaten to move to Marion County?
At ten years old, the Civic Center doesn't seem that ancient. After all, it was used this weekend for something quite young - the Junior League Attic Sale....
But recall a few months ago, when the Columbus Civic Center tried to sell sponsorship rights - and no one was willing to make the minimum bid. Does that make the arena a liability? Or is everyone waiting for Councilor Jack Rodgers to leave office, so it can be named after him?
Arthur Blank says it takes years to plan and build the next generation of a sports stadium. So do we need to start planning now, for the Civic Center's successor? It could have a new "Jumbotron" scoreboard - or even a scratched or dented big-screen TV from Best Buy.
The Civic Center's successor could be along the lines of what they're talking about building at Auburn University - a successor to Beard-Eaves Coliseum. We noted here earlier this year how far-fetched that idea seemed. But with enough reserved skyboxes, I suppose anything is possible....
E-MAIL UPDATE: Speaking of allegedly old things....
Mr. Burkard,
To answer your question on how old the picture of my grandfather is, assuming it was the same time we took the family picture that is on the website, I believe it was about 6 years ago during the summer. I might be mistaken, but I also want to add that the family picture of the Wetherington family on Mr. Wehteringtons website doesn’t seem to be recent either. I just graduated with two of his grandsons and obviously, the children in the picture don’t seem to be very old.
Always,
Poydasheff's Grandson
Take that, you scoffers! Mayor Bob Poydasheff really hasn't aged since 2000. But maybe all the candidates need to arrange Annie Liebowitz photo shoots, at Tom Cruise's secure undisclosed location....
What does it say when eight weeks before the Columbus mayoral election, the big debating point is the campaign pictures of the candidates? Instead of looking over the paragraphs of their platforms, we're analyzing the lines around their eyes and on their foreheads.
Here's one more e-mail, which came from someone at WRBL about something we wrote Friday:
Dearest Richard-
In response to "it's clear which station the boys are watching" comment: They are 12. Do you really think they're watching news? No insult taken.
Well, why wouldn't the world champion Northern Little League team be watching the evening news? Their parents probably have shelves filled with videotaped highlights already.
I was watching the evening news before I turned 12, but admittedly that was a different era. At the risk of showing my age, I only had about four TV stations to choose from at 6:00 p.m. - and that was in Kansas City, where there should have been more money and viewers interested in something else.
Watching the local evening news in my youth actually made me interested in a journalism career. So I don't think the age of the Little Leaguers has anything to do with this. The fact that they're baseball players might, though -- because I have yet to see one of them try to imitate Skip Carey, or even Dave Platta.
That reminds me: the Northern All-Stars traveled to Turner Field in Atlanta Saturday. They met major-league players, and even took the field with them. And here's what made things even more amazing - this year, Northern has a much better winning percentage.
Did you hear about the Northern All-Stars hiring a public relations firm? WRBL reports the team has hired Marquette McKnight's "Media, Marketing and More," because it's getting so many requests for appearances. At this rate, the team won't need to raise money for its next trip to the Little League World Series - the appearance fees already will be in the bank.
(I would make one suggestion to the team, though. If you're asked to appear with Terrell Owens or his agent, run as fast as you can.)
Now let's put our bats and gloves back in the closet, and send some Instant Messages....
+ To the organizers of that "community prayer" event at Lakebottom Park: Fewer than 15 people showed up. The people in charge apparently were late. And the main musician lost track of time, rehearsing two students in singing "The Greatest Love of All." If this was a really campaign event for Charles Weaver, the standard DOES need raising.
+ To Brookstone School: About that "Magazine Drive" sign on the fence - are you going to have a Newspaper Avenue as well?
+ To the Bavarian House restaurant on Weems Road: It's nice to see Wally and Mike are together again, performing music this weekend. Was some extra money exchanged to ensure this - such as a Mike Check?
+ To WRBL morning anchor Tammy Terry: I appreciate the fact that you call yourself a perfectionist. It's a relief to know at least one person there is.
+ To the grounds crew at Auburn's Jordan-Hare Stadium: Your field markings are confusing me. The other night, I thought running back Kenny Irons had crossed the 150-yard line....
+ To South Carolina football coach Steve Spurrier: Ouch -- shut out 18-0 by Georgia, at home!?! I'm reminded of that song from the musical "Chicago": you had it comin' , you had it comin'.
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