January 21, 2008 [LINK / comment]
Mike Zurawski has sent me another batch of links on ballpark renovation and construction projects. First, a long series of photos of the Nationals Park construction, including many before-and-after views of the surrounding are at jdland.com. They are high quality, and very useful, with some showing angles that I hadn't seen before. For example, one of them shows the northern ramp of the Frederick Douglass Bridge, which was lowered to street level last summer to make for a nicer stadium entrance.
More photos of construction at the New Yankee Stadium are at baseball-fever.com. They are making a lot of progress, and most of the concrete in the three decks has been poured. (Sigh...) It is pointed out that the second deck will be much bigger than at other ballparks, and will be covered almost entirely by the third deck. Also, the roof will be very large, with a correspondingly large frieze along the front edge much like the original. For what it's worth, I'm working on a proposed renovation of the old stadium to make it more like the original. Stay tuned...
In Kansas City, renovation on Royals Stadium is well under way, with the big old crown-topped scoreboard in center field already taken down, making room for an even bigger replacement; see the Royals Web site. This will be a multi-year project.
Likewise, the concourses at Dodger Stadium are being enlarged and modernized, with new dining facilities and other fan amenities; see the Dodgers Web site ; thanks again to Mike. I'll get to more such news items soon.