Niagara This Week on Brock Stadium

Niagara This Week ran a story today on the stadium proposal made to Thorold Council last week.

The article contains little new information, aside from this  quote from President Lightstone, “Athletics combined with education… is, I think, a tremendous way of producing well-rounded, disciplined, high-achievers.”   Sounds like my kind of guy!

As always, I will be sure to keep you up to date with anything I come across on the topic.

My Dad Works for ESPN on the Side

I think my Dad wrote this.

more about "My Dad Works for ESPN on the Side", posted with vodpod

Thumbs Up

New Standard Article on Brock Facility

Doug Herod at the Standard has written a new article on the facility proposal.  He gives some insight into both the Brock proposal, and the proposal of an artificial turf field at McCafferey Park in St. Catharines.

Perhaps the ‘economic impact’ argument may once be legitimate in terms of the construction projects and the jobs they may create.

More Info on the Brock Facility/Stadium

After doing more research today, I came up with a little more info on the proposed outdoor sports facility at Brock.  Here is what I came up with.

The Department of Athletics along with the Capital Projects and Facilities Committee have been working on determining the specific requirements for an artificial sport field at Brock.

Urban Strategies Inc. was contracted to prepare a more detailed site plan, which they did and submitted to the University in December of 2007.

An October Project Status Update categorized the project as being in the ‘Preliminary Design (Feasability Study)’ phase.  This report also split the project into two distinct phases.  Phase 1 includes the field (the turf field I assume), baseball diamond relocation and lighting installation, the estimated cost for Phase one is $4,114,115.  Phase 2 consists of the construction of the stadium building, road work and parking lot improvements.  The cost for Phase 2 would be approximately $10,591,841.  It appears the issue went before senior administration some time in November and obtained approval to move forward in regards to seeking funding sources and partnerships for the project.

The designs themselves look very impressive.  The field would run north/south, parallel to Merritville Highway with the intention of being highly visible from the road.  The design proposal stated a stadium capacity of 2,000, while the proposal at Thorold Council only stated a capacity of 1,200.

All signs point towards this being a partnership between the University, the City of Thorold, I would assume the City of St. Catharines, along with the involvement of local sport organizations such as soccer, football and baseball.

I will be sure to pass along any more information I come across.

If you haven’t read the Standard’s article on the topic yet, it can be found here.

Brock President Proposes Field/Stadium Concept

Brock University President Jack Lightstone proposed the construction of a $15 million sports facility on the portion of the Brock campus that is located in Thorold.

The proposed facility would include a soccer field, two baseball fields, along with a 1,200 seat stadium with change rooms.

While the word ‘football’ was nowhere to be found in the Standard’s article, one can only think a football program may be a possibility at some point in the future.

Funding for the proposed project is still up in the air as would be expected, but it appears the funds will need to come from a variety of sources.

I will do my best to keep you up to date on any of the latest developments.

Mustache Incentives

The most recent edition of Sports Illustrated has a humorous piece on incentive clauses.

I think this one was the best…

Oakland A’s - Perhaps the easiest clause to achieve: In 1972 owner Charlie Finley offered his players $300 if they’d grow mustaches as part of a Father’s Day promotion. All 25 did, and the ’staches became a team trademark. Rollie Fingers even had a clause written into his contract that he would be supplied with wax for his handlebars.

Also, Mitch Albom had a good piece on Detroit.

A Few NHL Bargains

I did a little search today on the ticket promotions that teams in some of the ‘non-traditional’ hockey markets are running.  I came across some great deals.  Here are the three of the best.

Tampa Bay Lightning

2 tickets, 2 beers, 2 hot dogs and parking ($39).  They should scrap the second ticket and guarantee that the girl in the ad will sit with you…and doesn’t the guy in the ad remind you of a certain Canadian basketball star?…perhaps they’re trying to market to Canadians in Tampa?  Hopefully this gem of an ad is still there when you check this one out.

Florida Panthers

2 tickets, 2 Cokes, 2 pizzas, parking ($50).  A great bargain, but Coke over beer?… They’re not trying hard enough here. The interesting thing here is that the Panthers aren’t a terrible team, 1 point out of a playoff spot with a game in hand.

Columbus Blue Jackets

2 tickets, 2-24 oz. beers, 2 pizzas ($60).  The obvious benefit of this package is the the 24 oz. beers.  Correct me if I’m wrong but that is approximately 700 ml, which is essentially two beers per person.  This is a great deal, I have taken in a game in Columbus and had a great time.  Parking wasn’t too expensive if I remember correctly, sound wasn’t very good in the upper bowl, but who cares.  Please tell me someone has attempted the following. Buy TWO of these packages.  You would have two enormous beers, two pizzas, and two seats to spread out on.  Talk about bang for your buck!

Follow the Roar

I just finished reading a great Christmas present, ‘Follow the Roar‘ by Bob Smiley.  I have always been a Tiger fan, casual at best until this past season when Tiger’s dominance seemed to reach new heights.  His performance at the US Open took my interest in Tiger to new heights.

Smiley’s book is a round by round account of Tiger’s most spectacular season.  Smiley followed Tiger from a fan’s perspective for every hole of the 2008 season.  While the book offers little in the way of ‘inside information’ on Tiger, it effectively highlights some of the characteristics that separate Tiger from his competitors.

While the story of Tiger’s dominance takes centre stage throughout the book, Smiley effectively weaves in personal stories from those he meets in the gallery, friends he stayed with, and shares some of his personal ups and downs that he went through over the course of the year.  By the end of the book you really feel like you were there for each hole with him.

There are very few athletes that I will willingly say I buy products they endorse, just because they endorse them.  I was never a big ‘Jordan’ brand guy, never really loyal to Nike because of their affiliation with particular athletes, but Tiger has changed all that.  My most recent pair of golf shoes I bought are the ones he wore at the US Open, and when my wife and I are in the states I always try to pick up some Gatorade Tiger.  I look forward to the day when I can afford some of the larger ticket items he endorses…watches, cars (soon to be new sponsor I am sure…Lexus maybe?)

In honour of Tiger’s great season, I put together a litle YouTube playlist with some highlights from each of the tournaments mentioned in the book, you can check it out here.

Thanks Mom and Dad for a great Christmas gift…Dad, you can borrow it now.

Hurry back Tiger, Sundays aren’t the same without you.

Economically Impacted…Finally

My wife and I were talking a few nights ago about how we are fortunate to be where we are at in life during the current economic environment.  We are both full-time students who work part-time service industry jobs in order to pay the bills.  We were discussing how generally speaking we aren’t really impacted by the situation.  Then…

I got to work last night at the local pizza shop I deliver pizzas for a few nights a week and saw two of my regular shifts had been cut by two hours each, reducing my weekly total by 4.  I realize a lot of this is seasonal, with January typically being a slow month in the pizza industry, but nonetheless for the first time in my adult life, the macro economy (other than the price level) has had an impact on my life (obviously other aspects have impacted me, but often in subtle ways I wasn’t even aware of).

I guess it just made me realize that no one is immune from the negative consequences of economic contraction.