cards stadium's "sportsmans park" (1 Viewer)

[Bri]

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/cards/home.htm

We wanted to extend the fan experience and standard of design excellence from the stadium to the site and provide an unparalleled site environment to enhance the pre- and postgame experience for our fans," said Michael Bidwill, Cardinals vice president and general counsel. "We also needed to give this special place a name. We chose 'Sportsman's Park,' which connotes the significance of the football stadium and the unique park-like setting of the site.

"We have been researching and listening to our fans for a long time. We have conducted focus groups and been getting feedback on what the fans like and we think Sportsman's Park is an area that everyone will be able to enjoy."

The Cardinals chose award-winning landscape architect Michael Dollin of Urban Earth Design for the project.

Sportsman's Park will have more than 20 acres of turf, including an eight-acre public area called the Great Lawn.

—The retractable roof panels of the new stadium recently were opened for the first time to allow work to continue on the roof assembly. The opening is approximately 240 feet wide by 360 feet long and fully exposes the playing field.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "We set out as a goal to have a great tailgating site but what our designers have created is the best tailgating venue not only in the Valley but also the National Football League. Nothing comes close. What we have done is unprecedented." - Michael Bidwill, Cardinals vice president and general counsel, on creation of Sportsman's Park adjacent to the Cardinals' new retractable-roof stadium in Glendale, Ariz., that is scheduled to open for the 2006 season.

*******

anyone got a link to pics of this?

 

[Dr. Malo]

Sounds like an exciting new stadium. It's abot time they made some major investments and upgrades.

 

[The Jerminator]

Wasn't that the name of the old baseball park in Philly?

 

[S.K.A.]

I have a 90 meg powerpoint presentation, but it deals mainly with the structural engineering that went into this stadium. Pretty impressive stuff.

 

[Bri]

why do you have that? were you involved in this?

please feel free to elaborate

 

[mcjc4]

When does someone buy the naming rights? You can't have a stadium in todays sports world without a corporate logo somewhere can you? Its not like the bidwells are Paul Allen like money rich, thats a few million out the window.

That could cover 20% of Edges signing bonus!!! Someone get Phelps Dodge or Avnet or Allied Waste on the phone for the naming rights. Those are only 3 fortune 500 companies. I guess the guy who created Spawn is officed here as well. Dial soap I think also.

 

[S.K.A.]

Was/am not involved with it. I am a civil engineer and scheduled one of the project managers to present to a group of structural engineering students. We then did a site visit about a year ago while we could still see the nuts and bolts of the building.

Can't really speak on the tailgaiting aspect, yet. My firm is relatively close to the stadium and I intend to get season tickets. I can report back to you on that .

 

[S.K.A.]

When does someone buy the naming rights? You can't have a stadium in todays sports world without a corporate logo somewhere can you? Its not like the bidwells are Paul Allen like money rich, thats a few million out the window.

That could cover 20% of Edges signing bonus!!! Someone get Phelps Dodge or Avnet or Allied Waste on the phone for the naming rights. Those are only 3 fortune 500 companies. I guess the guy who created Spawn is officed here as well. Dial soap I think also.

Maybe Intel, Motorola, or Boeing. I think Google is moving to Phoenix.

 

[Bri]

When does someone buy the naming rights? You can't have a stadium in todays sports world without a corporate logo somewhere can you? Its not like the bidwells are Paul Allen like money rich, thats a few million out the window.

That could cover 20% of Edges signing bonus!!! Someone get Phelps Dodge or Avnet or Allied Waste on the phone for the naming rights. Those are only 3 fortune 500 companies. I guess the guy who created Spawn is officed here as well. Dial soap I think also.

they have money to spend and Green has said something along the lines of "their isn't a position on this team that we won't address." He has big plans for this offseason

 

[Bri]

Was/am not involved with it. I am a civil engineer and scheduled one of the project managers to present to a group of structural engineering students. We then did a site visit about a year ago while we could still see the nuts and bolts of the building.

Can't really speak on the tailgaiting aspect, yet. My firm is relatively close to the stadium and I intend to get season tickets. I can report back to you on that .

well please do report back but can you shed any light on what happens once an owner decides he wants a new stadium?

 

[S.K.A.]

Was/am not involved with it. I am a civil engineer and scheduled one of the project managers to present to a group of structural engineering students. We then did a site visit about a year ago while we could still see the nuts and bolts of the building.

Can't really speak on the tailgaiting aspect, yet. My firm is relatively close to the stadium and I intend to get season tickets. I can report back to you on that .

well please do report back but can you shed any light on what happens once an owner decides he wants a new stadium?

Not sure I understand your question.

 

[mcjc4]

When does someone buy the naming rights?  You can't have a stadium in todays sports world without a corporate logo somewhere can you?  Its not like the bidwells are Paul Allen like money rich, thats a few million out the window.

That could cover 20% of Edges signing bonus!!!  Someone get Phelps Dodge or Avnet or Allied Waste on the phone for the naming rights. Those are only 3 fortune 500 companies.  I guess the guy who created Spawn is officed here as well.  Dial soap I think also.

they have money to spend and Green has said something along the lines of "their isn't a position on this team that we won't address." He has big plans for this offseason

Yea well after 5 years here, I don't put alot of faith in the Bidwells, and considering the previous 35 years were in Minny, I know "Denny Speak" better than most Arizonians.I hope they do everything they say they are going to do, because the 5th largest metropolitian City in America will come out in droves if they put a winner in that new Stadium.

PS (yea Philly we past you in size a few months ago)

 

[Bri]

An owner decides he wants a stadium then what?

looks for architects/engineers? You guys meet and he says what he wants,you return and submit designs+estimates?

Anything really, probably seems elementary to you but I think it's interesting

 

[S.K.A.]

An owner decides he wants a stadium then what?

looks for architects/engineers? You guys meet and he says what he wants,you return and submit designs+estimates?

Anything really, probably seems elementary to you but I think it's interesting

Oh, ok. I don't want to hijack this thread. In a nutshell, a project of this magnitude eliminates 98% of all architects and/or engineering firms. There are firms that specialize in sports stadiums. The owner would probably hold some sort of pre-bid presentations from a few of those firms. He would probably hire a consultant to help him prepare a preliminary scope of work and open it up for bid. Somewhere between 3~12 firms would submit bids along with bonding capacities. From there, depending on the delivery method the owner could award the bid for design, he could award the design and construction, he could choose the best-value route, or he could do a construction manager @ risk delivery method. Either way, the scope gets clearly defined and the owner negotiates a very thorough contract with the designer and/or construction company. That takes a lot of time and is probably very tedious. More than likely it is beyond the capability of the owner to make an educated decision and hopefully his consultant would really step forward and help nail down the details. This is the time that concepts and capacities meet form and function. Hope that helps a little bit.

 

[cstu]

When does someone buy the naming rights? You can't have a stadium in todays sports world without a corporate logo somewhere can you? Its not like the bidwells are Paul Allen like money rich, thats a few million out the window.

That could cover 20% of Edges signing bonus!!! Someone get Phelps Dodge or Avnet or Allied Waste on the phone for the naming rights. Those are only 3 fortune 500 companies. I guess the guy who created Spawn is officed here as well. Dial soap I think also.

they have money to spend and Green has said something along the lines of "their isn't a position on this team that we won't address." He has big plans for this offseason

Yea well after 5 years here, I don't put alot of faith in the Bidwells, and considering the previous 35 years were in Minny, I know "Denny Speak" better than most Arizonians.I hope they do everything they say they are going to do, because the 5th largest metropolitian City in America will come out in droves if they put a winner in that new Stadium.

PS (yea Philly we past you in size a few months ago)

I'd imagine having an indoor stadium will make a difference in attendance. Arizona has always seemed like a terrible place for outdoor football in Sept. and even Oct.

 

[azgroover]

Photos/renderings

Click on the sportsman park renderings.

 

[Osaurus]

Cialis Sportsman's Park has a certain ring to it. Do they have hunting on the turf??

 

[blend]

I think Sportsman's Park is just the name of the park surrounding the stadium. I know that they are looking for a corp to sponsor the actual stadium...

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories...html?from_rss=1

The Arizona Cardinals are scouring America's corporate giants to find a naming rights partner for its new stadium, and some experts say it could result in one of the biggest deals of its kind in professional sports.

 

[DoctorDetroit]

I'm sure the 412 fans who come to the game will love these new digs.

 

[JohnDoe]

Wasn't that the name of the old baseball park in Philly?

I think it was the name of the old baseball park in St. Louis. The Cardinals played there before they moved to Bush Stadium.

 

[azgroover]

I'm sure the 412 fans who come to the game will love these new digs.

It will sell out regularly.Sun Devil stadium was that bad.

 

[DoctorDetroit]

I'm sure the 412 fans who come to the game will love these new digs.

It will sell out regularly.Sun Devil stadium was that bad.

I hope so for the potential rivalry with Seattle (we need one outside the Rams). I think the talent is there and next year the team will take a step in the right direction. If they can run the damn ball they will be a much better team.

 

[Bri]

I think Sportsman's Park is just the name of the park surrounding the stadium. I know that they are looking for a corp to sponsor the actual stadium...

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories...html?from_rss=1

The Arizona Cardinals are scouring America's corporate giants to find a naming rights partner for its new stadium, and some experts say it could result in one of the biggest deals of its kind in professional sports.

it is, it's like a tailgating park for the new stadium.

 

[Nemesis]

Photos/renderings

Click on the sportsman park renderings.

The funniest one:Click on "2005 construction" and then click the "next" button about 7 or 8 times.

There is a picture of the stadium from about 200 yds away. However, it looks like it is taken from INSIDE a helmet.

 

[ozark]

Wasn't that the name of the old baseball park in Philly?

I think it was the name of the old baseball park in St. Louis. The Cardinals played there before they moved to Bush Stadium.

Correct. when the Chicago Cardinals moved to St. louis they first played in the long time home of the St. Louis Browns (Baltimore) and Baseball Cardinals called Sportsmans Park. We called the team. The Big Red, aka Football Cardinals. Cardinals where the baseball team.

 

[acefootball]

A lot of things to be excited about for Zona fans this offseason. Should be cool moving into new stadium, and lots of $ to spend on free agency. Plus a very high draft pick. I really would like to see the good things continue into next season and for the team to finally find some success!

 

[RTB1]

When does someone buy the naming rights? You can't have a stadium in todays sports world without a corporate logo somewhere can you? Its not like the bidwells are Paul Allen like money rich, thats a few million out the window.

That could cover 20% of Edges signing bonus!!! Someone get Phelps Dodge or Avnet or Allied Waste on the phone for the naming rights. Those are only 3 fortune 500 companies. I guess the guy who created Spawn is officed here as well. Dial soap I think also.

Paul Brown Stadium

 

[azgroover]

When does someone buy the naming rights? You can't have a stadium in todays sports world without a corporate logo somewhere can you? Its not like the bidwells are Paul Allen like money rich, thats a few million out the window.

That could cover 20% of Edges signing bonus!!! Someone get Phelps Dodge or Avnet or Allied Waste on the phone for the naming rights. Those are only 3 fortune 500 companies. I guess the guy who created Spawn is officed here as well. Dial soap I think also.

Paul Brown Stadium

Vegas has 3 years O/U on how much longer that will go on.

 

[BassNBrew]

Wasn't that the name of the old baseball park in Philly?

I think it was the name of the old baseball park in St. Louis. The Cardinals played there before they moved to Bush Stadium.

Correct. when the Chicago Cardinals moved to St. louis they first played in the long time home of the St. Louis Browns (Baltimore) and Baseball Cardinals called Sportsmans Park. We called the team. The Big Red, aka Football Cardinals. Cardinals where the baseball team.

LOL at that ####### running the team into the ground, moving it to a freaking desert, and then co-opting a piece of history from the old city. Bad, bad karma. Quite possibly the worst owner in professional sports history. How many post season victories in franchise history...when was the last?

 

[S.K.A.]

Uh, regular sell-outs and vying for contention...Is that what I am hearing?

What is that saying about hope, spring, and eternal?

I will be surprised if it sells out regularly. Its capacity is 67,500 for regular events. I would guess that it will be doing good to get 55,000 in regularly. 25,000 of those being Cowboy, Raider, or Packer fans.

 

[azgroover]

Ticket sales are brisk

Cards box office buzzing

Kent Somers

The Arizona Republic

Feb. 11, 2006 12:00 AM

The Cardinals ticket office has been a tranquil place for most of the team's 18 years in Arizona, the quiet usually interrupted only by the sound of the nearby elevator. The parking spots reserved out front for ticket buyers have sat vacant on most days.

That solitude has made the flurry of activity at the team's Tempe headquarters in the past two weeks even more startling. A security guard directs fans to parking spots, and the lobby is filled with customers eager to buy tickets for the 2006 season.

These are unusual times, to say the least, for a franchise that has finished last in the NFL attendance every season since 2000.

"We're pretty bullish on where this thing is going," said Ron Minegar, vice president of marketing and sales.

"This thing" is season ticket sales for the new stadium in Glendale, set to open for football in August. The Cardinals spent more than three years devising a plan to relocate their existing season ticket holders from Sun Devil Stadium, and two weeks into it, they couldn't be more pleased.

The results of the past two weeks have been so encouraging that team officials are trying to hold their enthusiasm in check. Minegar declined to reveal sales numbers, but he said the Cardinals' most optimistic projections are being exceeded.

The Cardinals haven't released season ticket totals in years, but it's believed they sold about 32,000 in 2005. Renewals are running higher than expected, Minegar said, as are the number of current ticket holders who want to buy additional seats. Also, the team's list of new customers, who have paid $100 deposits, is longer than the club forecasted.

"We're not going to get overly ahead of ourselves right now," Minegar said, "but suffice it to say we feel really good about where this is tracking."

The objective is to sell out the 63,400-seat stadium for the 2006 season, but selling out just one game would be an accomplishment. The NFL requires a sellout for a team's home games to be broadcast locally, and that hasn't happened for the Cardinals since Green Bay played here in 2000.

In developing the relocation plan, the Cardinals consulted other teams that moved into new stadiums in recent years, such as Denver, Pittsburgh and Seattle, and learned what worked and what didn't.

Priority was determined by seniority, how long a person had continuously held season tickets. Relocation packets were mailed and the team bought software that allows fans to visit the Cardinals Web site and check out the view from different seats.

Fans are scheduled for 20-minute sessions with sales representatives at the team's facility. Twelve stations operate 10 hours a day, Monday through Saturday, and the team added 26 salespeople to handle the load.

This is the one time the team's small fan base has worked in its favor. If it had 50,000 or 60,000 season ticket holders, as is common in the rest of the league, the Cardinals probably wouldn't be able to conduct business face to face.

The smaller number has given the process a personal touch. Owner Bill Bidwill has served fans coffee as they wait for appointments. Coach Dennis Green and members of his staff have stopped by to visit. In fact, one of the conference rooms used for the sessions is just around the corner from Green's office.

Most fans seem happy with the process, and most sessions have taken fewer than the 20 allotted minutes, because fans did their homework before arriving.

"I was amazed at how quick it was," Will Glover, a season ticket holder from Ahwatukee, said after his session last Thursday.

Not everyone leaves happy, however. The average ticket price has increased 19.1 percent over last year, irritating some fans. And as with any relocation plan, some people aren't pleased with their new seats or the selection process.

Take the guy who showed up on the second day of relocation. He bought four seats since 1988 and two more in 1994. He thought he could purchase all six seats at the same time, with the rest of the 1988 class of ticket holders.

When told he'd have to wait to select the other two, he loudly voiced his displeasure in the team lobby.

Minegar likened it to standing in a line for a movie and watching eight people join someone in front of you. The Cardinals didn't give in and the man had calmed down by the time he left. When he left, ticket holders in the lobby clapped.

"It would be disingenuous if I told you that everybody who came in here got exactly the seat they were looking for," Minegar said. "But I think at least 98 percent of the people have walked out of here happy."

Jeannette and Charlie Uriarte did, despite spending about $2,000 on two seats. They knew they wanted club seats, but they wanted to make sure they were near the tunnel the Cardinals would use to enter and exit the field.

Both grew up in Guadalupe and now live in Tempe. They've attended Cardinals games since the team moved here in 1988, and have had tickets in their names since 1994.

Jeannette has missed only one game in 18 years, including preseason contests, and that was because of a death in the family.

Charlie wore an Anquan Boldin jersey to the session Thursday, and Jeannette wore a Cardinals red jacket.

"This is our little getaway entertainment thing," she said. "We both enjoy football so it's something we share in common."

Family and friends tease them about spending so much money on a team that has had one winning season since moving to Arizona, but the Uriartes were smiling as they walked to the ticket window Thursday.

"We get blasted all the time," Jeannette said. "People say, 'I can't believe you spend your money on that.' We hear it from all our family members all the time. But we love football."

Cardinals officials are trying to contain their glee over how things have gone so far. They haven't even started their major promotional push and expect it will take through March to get through the new buyers who have already placed deposits.

A cynic would say no team official is ever going to admit if sales fall below expectations. And it behooves the team to create a buzz and convince people that if they want a seat, they had better starting lining up now.

Minegar can point to a busy parking lot and a full lobby as evidence that this excitement is real.

"I can just tell you the activity level and the trends we're seeing now are markedly different than any other year I've been here," he said.

"The interesting thing is the stuff we're seeing hasn't been a one-week occurrence. The activity level we've seen has been sustained, and that's encouraging."

 

[Captain Blowhard]

Will there be hunting and fishing available pre and post game?

 

[TheFanatic]

Wasn't that the name of the old baseball park in Philly?

I think it was the name of the old baseball park in St. Louis. The Cardinals played there before they moved to Bush Stadium.

That is correct. Link to Sportsman's Park in St. Louis

 

[cstu]

Uh, regular sell-outs and vying for contention...Is that what I am hearing?What is that saying about hope, spring, and eternal?I will be surprised if it sells out regularly. Its capacity is 67,500 for regular events. I would guess that it will be doing good to get 55,000 in regularly. 25,000 of those being Cowboy, Raider, or Packer fans.

 

[SofaKings]

Uh, regular sell-outs and vying for contention...Is that what I am hearing?What is that saying about hope, spring, and eternal?I will be surprised if it sells out regularly. Its capacity is 67,500 for regular events. I would guess that it will be doing good to get 55,000 in regularly. 25,000 of those being Cowboy, Raider, or Packer fans.

It's not a top tier stadium.

 

[S.K.A.]

Uh, regular sell-outs and vying for contention...Is that what I am hearing?What is that saying about hope, spring, and eternal?I will be surprised if it sells out regularly. Its capacity is 67,500 for regular events. I would guess that it will be doing good to get 55,000 in regularly. 25,000 of those being Cowboy, Raider, or Packer fans.

It has outperformed what I anticipated in terms of sell outs.

 

[Phurfur]

Uh, regular sell-outs and vying for contention...Is that what I am hearing?What is that saying about hope, spring, and eternal?I will be surprised if it sells out regularly. Its capacity is 67,500 for regular events. I would guess that it will be doing good to get 55,000 in regularly. 25,000 of those being Cowboy, Raider, or Packer fans.

It has outperformed what I anticipated in terms of sell outs.

Every game has been a sellout, you weren't eve close.

 

[S.K.A.]

Uh, regular sell-outs and vying for contention...Is that what I am hearing?What is that saying about hope, spring, and eternal?I will be surprised if it sells out regularly. Its capacity is 67,500 for regular events. I would guess that it will be doing good to get 55,000 in regularly. 25,000 of those being Cowboy, Raider, or Packer fans.

It has outperformed what I anticipated in terms of sell outs.

Every game has been a sellout, you weren't eve close.

Very insightful.

 

[Phurfur]

Uh, regular sell-outs and vying for contention...Is that what I am hearing?What is that saying about hope, spring, and eternal?I will be surprised if it sells out regularly. Its capacity is 67,500 for regular events. I would guess that it will be doing good to get 55,000 in regularly. 25,000 of those being Cowboy, Raider, or Packer fans.

It has outperformed what I anticipated in terms of sell outs.

Every game has been a sellout, you weren't eve close.

Very insightful.

Thanks, I though your reply fluffed over how wrong you were. You should be in politics.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Uh, regular sell-outs and vying for contention...Is that what I am hearing?

What is that saying about hope, spring, and eternal?

I will be surprised if it sells out regularly. Its capacity is 67,500 for regular events. I would guess that it will be doing good to get 55,000 in regularly. 25,000 of those being Cowboy, Raider, or Packer fans.

It has outperformed what I anticipated in terms of sell outs.

Hope, spring, and eternal?Hope springs eternal in the human breast;

Man never Is, but always To be blest:

The soul, uneasy and confin'd from home,

Rests and expatiates in a life to come.

-Alexander Pope,

An Essay on Man, Epistle I, 1733

 

[S.K.A.]

Uh, regular sell-outs and vying for contention...Is that what I am hearing?What is that saying about hope, spring, and eternal?I will be surprised if it sells out regularly. Its capacity is 67,500 for regular events. I would guess that it will be doing good to get 55,000 in regularly. 25,000 of those being Cowboy, Raider, or Packer fans.

It has outperformed what I anticipated in terms of sell outs.

Every game has been a sellout, you weren't eve close.

Very insightful.

Thanks, I though your reply fluffed over how wrong you were. You should be in politics.

I said I would be surprised and I am surprised. I'll take into consideration your advice to be in politics. Perhaps you would consider an English class for your next destination?

 

[OC Zed]

Uh, regular sell-outs and vying for contention...Is that what I am hearing?What is that saying about hope, spring, and eternal?I will be surprised if it sells out regularly. Its capacity is 67,500 for regular events. I would guess that it will be doing good to get 55,000 in regularly. 25,000 of those being Cowboy, Raider, or Packer fans.

It's not a top tier stadium.

I have been to this stadium and thought it was very nice, although I concede that I have been to few other NFL stadiums. If you do not think Univ. of Phoenix Stadium is "top tier", then what stadiums deserve that label?

 

[Phurfur]

Uh, regular sell-outs and vying for contention...Is that what I am hearing?What is that saying about hope, spring, and eternal?I will be surprised if it sells out regularly. Its capacity is 67,500 for regular events. I would guess that it will be doing good to get 55,000 in regularly. 25,000 of those being Cowboy, Raider, or Packer fans.

It has outperformed what I anticipated in terms of sell outs.

Every game has been a sellout, you weren't eve close.

Very insightful.

Thanks, I though your reply fluffed over how wrong you were. You should be in politics.

I said I would be surprised and I am surprised. I'll take into consideration your advice to be in politics. Perhaps you would consider an English class for your next destination?

It is all about content my friend.You also said this

I would guess that it will be doing good to get 55,000 in regularly. 25,000 of those being Cowboy, Raider, or Packer fans