I just got around to reading Sunday's Newsday and saw Jim Baumbach's item about WorldStadiums.com, which aims to list every major sports venue in New York (and elsewhere).
He said he has been to 21 of them. I counted 34 on my life list, but I'm much older than him. There no doubt are other Newsday sports staffers with more than me. If anyone out there can top 50, let me know.
That's Lynah Rink in Ithaca in the picture. I don't know whether that's on Jim's list. But it should be.
Comments (15)
Here is my list:
Belmont
Ralph Wilson Stadium
Yankee Stadium
Shea Stadium
Saratoga Race Course
Carrier Dome (men's hoops)
Arthur Ashe Stadium
Madison Square Garden
Nassau Coliseum
Hofstra Stadium (football)
Mack S. & E. Complex (Hofstra hoops)
Mitchel Athletic Complex
KeySpan Park
Citibank Ballpark
Carnesecca Arena
Stony Brook Indoor Sports Complex
McCann Center (Marist)
The Ballpark at St. John's
Radio City Music Hall
Theater at Madison Square Garden
168th Street Armory
Keep in mind I did not count doubles. Just because they list MSG twice, for basketball and hockey, doesn't mean it should count twice, I think. Either you've been there or not...
I've also driven by the Glens Falls Civic Center, but did not go in. I've seen the outside of Russell E. Diethrick Park in Jamestown but never saw a game there (Randy Johnson's first minor-league stop!). And one year I covered the state girls basketball high school championships at an arena in Troy, but I don't see that place listed.
Okay, time for bed.
Neil, I've got 24. Like Jim, I didn't double dip on any. So I can't count girls volleyball, wrestling, men's and women's basketball, and fraternity league basketball championships all at Newman Arena. So I just chose men's hoops. Also, Cornell has its own wrestling arena, the Friedman Center on campus (it's the only wrestling-only arena in the county)...
http://www.cornellbigred.com/Sports/general/2007/FriedmanWrestlingCenter.asp
so can i have 26?
also, i didn't see columbia's gym...http://www.gocolumbialions.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=9600&KEY=&ATCLID=319179
27?
and how bout Hoy Field at Cornell? Lou Gehrig played there for Columbia....
28?
Barton Hall? Reis Tennis Center? Berman Field. Okay, now I'm just being silly..
Here's my list...
Belmont Park
Yankee Stadium
Shea Stadium
Carrier Dome (saw Cornell play the Orange)
Michie Stadium (Army)
Schoellkopf Field (Cornell)
Arthur Ashe Stadium (men's U.S. Open Final past two seasons)
MSG
Wien Stadium (Columbia)
Nassau Coliseum
Times Union Center (ECAC hockey championships)
Hofstra Stadium
Andy Kerr Stadium (Cornell-Colgate football)
Mitchel Athletic Complex (Catholic High School All-Star game this year)
Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium (regional field hockey championships)
Citibank Park (Ducks)
Glens Falls Civic Center (girls volleyball states)
Indoor Sports Complex at Stony Brook (suffolk county wrestling championships)
Houston Field House (Cornell-RPI hockey)
Mack Complex at Hofstra
Icahn Stadium (only for a concert, not a sporting event)
Newman Arena
Lynah Rink
Cheel Arena (Cornell-Clarkson hockey)
Lake Placid
Nassau County Aquatic Center
Joe Bruno Stadium
Ralph Wilson Stadium
Times Union Center (used to be the Pepsi Arena and before that the Knick)
Oops - you already have the Times-Union.
I did not count doubles either, dudes. But again, I'm old. And I only started living in my basement 2 1/2 years ago. And I went to school in upstate New York. So I had a big head start. Plus, in 1990 I did a feature on minor league ballparks in NY State.
(1) What the hell is Newman Arena? There's no year mentioned and I don't remember hoops playing anywhere other than Barton.
(2) And when did Hofstra cease to be the Flying Dutchmen?
(3) He left off Dwyer Stadium, home of the NY-Penn Batavia Muckdogs and first professional home of most of the Phillies I've grown to hate in recent years.
I once made a short trip to NY, during which my host tried to get me to as many professional sports events as we could possibly see. It was whirlwind but fun seeing pucks in MSG and NASA County Coliseum and baseball in Shea. Is that possible or is my memory toast?
How many of you can say you've seen lacrosse in Wehrum Stadium? Top-notch facility.
Jim saw the Armory when it had been all re-done. In the mid-80's, we had to run laps around the track whose infield was filled with beds for the homeless stacked up. And, oh yeah, some of the beds were still occupied.
Also, the Carrier Dome was a harbinger of naming rights gone bad. To wit, it was named for an air conditioning company, yet it did not have air conditioning because it "wasn't in the budget."
As a Hofstra graduate, I despise the school's decision to go p-c and call the school's teams "The Pride" .. alluding to the lions on the school's formal crest; both used to be male but one is now female. They -do- retain the name Flying Dutchmen ... it's on the press box in the football stadium ...
here's the official poop from good 'ol H.U. of Hemp Head ...
http://www.hofstra.edu/Athletics/ath_heritage.cfm
And this from Newsday alum Tony Kornheiser:
New York, N.Y. (originally from Fairfax, Va.): Dear Mr. Kornheiser and Mr. Wilbon,
Upon reading Mr, Kornheiser's column today, I noted that he is still referring to Hofstra's basketball team as the Flying Dutchmen. While we Hofstra alumni are still close to our school's Dutch heritage, we are now called the Hofstra Pride. Please make a note of this change. GO PRIDE!
Sincerely,
Abigail
Tony & Mike: I'm a Long Island boy and Hofstra was my home school. I called the Sports Information Director there on Monday and was told specifically that both Flying Dutchmen and Pride were nicknames and either was acceptable. I was told they had gone to Pride because of the Lions on the Hofstra shield, but that they had not dumped Flying Dutchmen -- which was good because it would have been a politically correct situation and I don't like politically correct. So Abigail, I think while you might like Pride, I think Flying Dutchmen is still acceptable. And of course, I root for Hofstra being a Long Island boy. –Tony
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/liveonline/01/sports/tkwilbon/tkwilbon031601.htm
Best, I'm older than you. So old that I can count Madison Square Garden twice ... legitimately. And how many of your readers have been to the old Garden?
Can you count New York City itself for the marathon?
That'll get you up to 5 NKR.
Do arenas that no longer exist or that are no longer in use count? I didn't places like the Long Island Arena, The Aud or others on anyone's lists.
Glauber: I never was at the old Garden. But I can relate to Chris about the armory before it was redone. In the mid-80s I covered high school track meets there when the entire place smelled like disinfectant due to the homeless population that was headquartered there. Baumbach was in diapers then.