Just when things in the stadium and arena world seemed to be quieting down for the summer, we had a bit of a crazy week, thanks to all those sewage leaks and threats to move teams to various places. As a result, a few things fell through the cracks this week, so let’s catch up with a quick roundup post:
- UC-Berkeley is trying to pay for its new $400 million football stadium by selling PSLs. It’s not going well.
- The Atlanta Falcons have approved the iris-roofed stadium design that was proposed a few weeks back, or as Deadspin puts it, “That Insane New Falcons Stadium Is Really Going To Happen.“
- Now that the NFL is banning all but small clear plastic bags, the Philadelphia Eagles are giving fans free bags that meet the new standard. But only for season ticket holders — everyone else can buy their own damn bags.
- Travis Waldron at ThinkProgress has a good overview of how students and taxpayers are subsidizing college athletics to the tune of $2 billion a year, and he doesn’t even get into stadium subsidies for public universities.
- The Cleveland Browns could now be looking for $200 million in upgrades to their stadium. Still no word on who’d pay for it.
- Brazil’s frenzy of World Cup spending is partly FIFA’s fault for suckering them into it, writes Jonathan Mahler.
- Sacramento is set to spend the first $6.5 million on financial, design, and legal consultants for its new Kings arena. Much, much more to come.