Stadium Lament

It's hard to make any salient points in 300 words or less regarding stadium design (lord knows we've tried and occasionally crashed miserably). Mark Lamster takes the new NYC stadiums to task, among others, in the latest issue of I.D. Magazine. His point well-meaning and in an ideal world (hell, even in a reasonable one) his points about inspiring stadiums that actually function as great public spaces would be applauded and put into action.

Sadly, I don't agree that stadiums serve the role they once did. The grand palaces and functional mudholes that served both as 'escape vehicles' from blue collar life and as a nexus of social activity have now moved in a different direction. They are all about "experience", and often that experience involves isolating one from their fellow fans. This occurs primarily through the use of skyboxes that destroy seating bowls, but also involve everything from the distracting (Jumbotrons full of data) to the inane (Bank One Ballpark's swimming pool in the outfield). The 'stadiums mimic society' argument isn't a new one and I'm not going to fly that proverbial flag in depth here, but there is some truth in it.

Lamster loses me again with the line "baseball fans don’t really care much about design or styling, retro or otherwise. They demand only one thing—a good ballgame" is disproved about two blocks from my house every day, where thousands of Bleacher-goers stream through the outfield at Wrigley field and really don't give a damn what the outcome of the game is, so long as there is some sunshine and beer, and the seeminly requisite three hours of post-game drinking in the streets of Wrigleyville.

I'm of the opinion that the larger struggle stadium designers face is to strike a balance between the demands for wider seats, aisles and concourses dotted with shopping and 'info-tainment' experiences, while still somehow keeping the fans close to the field of play, rather than stashing them behind glass boxes or putting them in a third deck that requires oxygen to reach. The days of going to the ballpark "just to watch the game" are dwindling fast.