Unlike football, basketball, and hockey, baseball is the only major North American sport where two spectators can carry on a conversation with one another without missing most of the action. It’s also the only sport that doesn’t have a clock. There are no scrimmages every 30 seconds to focus on, no frequent trading of baskets to stress you out, and no fast-flowing play punctuated by body checks to get excited about. Only soccer comes close to the methodical nature of baseball, and even then, there are thousands of fans chanting and banging drums almost all match long.
For those reasons, watching a baseball game in person is as much about the experience of the stadium as it is about the game itself. A great ballpark is like a great public park or beautiful beach: if the scenery is appealing enough, you will completely relax and enjoy your activity, be it a picnic, a book, or a sporting event.
In November of 2018, when the Oakland Athletics released renderings for their new Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG)-designed stadium, the team showed fans what they could expect starting in 2023. Gensler and James Corner Field Operations are also part of the project. Following the example of other North American professional sports teams who have recently built new mixed-use entertainment projects, such as the Edmonton Oilers of the NHL and the Brooklyn Nets of the NBA, the Athletics are proposing a new community for Oakland?s Howard Terminal, with their $700 million, 34,000-seat s...