SPORTS COMPLEX for CHICAGO Ralph Navarino Jr. Arch. 422
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SPORTS COMPLEX FOR CHICAGO Ralph Navarino Jr. Arch. 422 II7; r V ^^^- TABLE OP CONTENTS T> \,/ HISTORY OP STADIA t HISTORY OP SPORTS IN CHIAOGO 2 ARENA REQUIREMENTS, STADIUM REQUIREMENTS. 4 SITE. CLIMATE 6 BIBLIOGRAPHY 7 >\ ..K;. I. "There*s the kick!" "Play balll" "He jumps, shoots and scores I" "Here's the face-off!" These phrases are very familiar to millions of football, baseball, basketball and hockey fans around the country. The fans view the games in stadia that can accommodate a population of 50,000 to 110,000. In ancient Greece, the word stadium meant a measured distanceo This distance of 606 feet was later designated the length of a race course that was flanked by terraced seats. During the Third Century B. C., the stadium in Olympia, Greece had stone seats along the sides and formed a semi-circular curve were they Joined* When the Romans came along, they were not to be out done. They built their stadia in an elaborate fashion. The Circus Maximus, which held 250,000 persons, stills holds the record for the largest stadium constructed. In 72 to 80 A. D., when Roman architecture and engineering reached its height, the Coliseum was built. The Coliseum held 50,000 spectators. It was a four-story oval with many aspects used in today*^ stadia, such as sight lines, aisles ans exits and even a cover. The Romans stretched a canvas across the top of the Coliseum to protect the spectators. Also like today's stadia the Coliseum was a multi-purpose stadium. It had everything from gladiator fights to simulated sea battles. For the next twelve centuries, stadia construction will become lost. Prior to 1900 the United States had no known stadium facilitieso. Up until World War One there were only five. Prom World War One to the 1930*s, stadium construction spread through the country with over one hundred built mostly for football. Soldier Field, where the Chicago Bears now play, was built in 1926. Interest in stadium construction comes again in the late 1930's and 1940's; then comes to a halt with World War Two. Not until the late 1950*s does interest come to its final phase. This final phase started in 1958 in San Francisco with Candelstick Park, for the baseball Giants formerly of New York, It has continued to the present with proposed stadia for New Oreans and Detroit. To keep a sport franchise or to attract new ones, many cities have to up date existing facilities or provide new and modern ones. In 1958, the New York Giants baseball team moved to San Francisco. They could not get a new stadium nor could they improve the stadium in which they played Their stadium was the Pdlo Grounds. San Francisco promisedia new stadium. The Giants were provided with Candlestick Park which seats 45,000 spectators.. With the move, the Giants yearly attendance figures more than doubled the yearly figures of their last three years in New York. In 1959, the Brooklyn Dodgers were in the same predicament. The Dodger's stadium was being replaced by apartments. Los Angeles made the Dodgers an offer that brought them to Chavez Ravine and a 56,000 seat stadium. Since then 1.5 to 2.5 million fans have seen the Dodgers each year. When the baseball leagues were looking into expansion, several cities put in bids for a franchise. The cities had promised to have new facilities for the teams. So in the next expansion years. New York was given the Mets and Shea Stadium, Anaheim was given the Angels and Anaheim Stadium, Houston got the Astros and the Astrodome, Washington D. 0. was awarded the Senators and R, P. K. Stadium and San Diego welcomed the Padres at San Diego Stadium. Atlanta and Oakland had built new facilities for their football teams; and hoping to land a major league baseball team, the stadia makes provisions for baseball. The Milwaukee Braves were having problems and wanted to move. They found a good set up in Atlanta. The owner of the Kansas City A's saw the same set...up in Oakland and the team is now known as the Oakland A's. Kansas City and Milwaukee were awarded teams in the last few years. The Milwaukee Brewers are still playing in their old stadium; but the Kansas City Royals have a new 45,000 seat stadium which is part of the new Jackson County Sports Complex in Kansas City that also has a 75,000 seat football stadium for the Chiefs. As far as fooball is concerned. The National Football League stripped Boston on their Patriots because Boston refused to enlarge Fenway Park, where the Patriots played, to 55,000 so it could meet league requirements. A city named Poxboro said they would build a 65,000 seat stadium so the Patriots could stay in the area. Scheafer Stadium now has the New England Patriots. The Dallas Cowboys moved out of the Cotton Bowl Jwhere they had played since they were formed to a new 65,000 seat semi-covered stadium in the Dallas suburb of Irving. They moved out because the city would not make the proper improvements. This is the same situation the New York Giants face at Yankee Stadium; no improvements and a bad location. The Giants are packing and moving across the river to Hackensack, New Jersey and a new 70,000 seat stadium that is part of a new sports complex there. St. Louis, Cincinnati, -Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh have built new dual-purpose stadia for their baseball and football teams. They are: New Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Riverfront Stadium replacing Orosley Field in Cincinnati, Veterans Stadium replacing Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia and Forbes Field done in by Three Rivers Stadium in |>ittsburgh. Several cities are proposing new facilities for their sports teams. New Orleans is planning a "superdome" with 78,000 to 82,000 seats for football, 56,000 seats for baseball, 25,000 seats for basketball and over 100,000 seats for conven tions. The Wayne County Stadium, in Detroit, is also planned to be domed with seating for 60,000 persons for football, 55,000 for baseball and 25,000 for basketball or hockey. Cleveland has a 65,000 seat stadium planned that has its two three deck seating tiers that swing into place for football or for baseball. It also creates a 17,000 seat stadium for basketball and hockey that has a retractable roof. There is a major problem with this stadium, there is no place to put ito The other city that is planning a stadium 4s Buffalo. No details are given about its size. With the new stadia that has been built, that which is under construction, and those proposed, it does not leave many cities with football or baseball teams that play in old stadia. These are the Denver Broncos, the Boston Red Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, New York Yankees, Baltimore Colts and Orioles and the Chicago White Sox, Cubs and Bears. This program will be a study of a new sports complex for the city of Chicago. The complex will provide facilities for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League, the Chicago Cubs of baseball 's National League, the Chicago Black Hawks of the National Hockey League and the Chicago Bulls of the National basketball Association. Chicago was chosen because it has perhaps the two oldest stadia used for major league teams in the country. These stadia are Soldier Field proposed in 1923 and finished in 1926, and Wrigley Field built before 1923e Of the twelve teams in baseball's National League, the Chicago Cubs are the only team still playing in their old stadium. In football, the Chicago Bears are one of twelve teams that play in old stadia, and of the twenty-six teams in the N. P. L., fourteen have moved into new stadia. 7 Organized baseball started in Cooperstown, New York in 1839 by Abner Doubleday. There is no specific date as to when the Chicago Cubs became a team; but in I876 under the management of A. G. Spalding the National League was founded. The charter members of the league where; Chicago, Boston, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Louisville and Hartford. Then the New York Mutals and the Philadelphia Athletics joined. This gave the league eight teams. In that first yeat the Cubs won the league championship with a 52-14 won-loss record for a .788 percent, '^he Cubs won the league championship in I88O, I88I, I882, I885 and I886. Prom then on they have had their ups and downs. Although the Cubs have finished in first place sixteen times, they have only won the World Series twice since 1900. These championships were in 1907 and,1908. between the years of 1900-1963, the Cubs have finished in the first division fifty-one times and in the second division thirty- eight times. Twenty-one of tne thirty-eight second division placings have been from 1943-1963. The Cubs attenance also had its ups and downs. Attendance records were first kept in 1901. That year the attendance for the Cubs home games 8 was 205,071. The Cubs finished the season in sixth place and the attendance record showed sixth place also, •'•he figures show that attendance went up when a team is doing well. The Cubs fin ished first ten times between 1901 and 1945. Attendance was number one sevenof the ten times and second the other three times. Attendance has gone up from 205,071 in 1901 to 1,653,007 in 1971.