Parking Still a Problem
While Rio Tinto Stadium is a lovely addition to Utah’s list of great stadiums/arenas, I’ve started to hear more complaints about the parking situation.
It was obvious from the start there was far too little parking in the area. Those who have been to RSL games and/or concerts say that lots in the area raise their prices for concerts, charging as much as $20 for the Eagles. Meanwhile, people at nearby Jordan Commons have been asked if they’re going to the soccer game or the Commons, and charged appropriately.
Nearby South Towne Expo Center provides some parking, but not nearly enough. Other facilities are served by shuttles. Still, from what I’m hearing, it’s still an issue.
As one nearby business worker said, you’d need that much parking space for a stadium half that size.
In another item, a nearby business owner said he’s OK with the stadium and has attended a game or two, but was put off when he saw people urinating in the parking lot after the game. Let’s hope it was a random incident. For the record, I’ve never seen any such thing when I’ve arrived or left the stadium.
***
Ogden Raptors CEO Dave Baggott is trying to get the Dodgers to let Manny Ramirez rehab in Ogden.
Baggott, who is a great promoter, knows a good deal when he sees it. If I were him, I’d agree to allow Ramirez to rehab in Ogden if necessary, but I wouldn’t lobby for it. One of the big draws of minor league baseball is that it’s perceived to be more pure – true or not. Bringing in a suspected steroid user can’t help.
I’d stick to the clever promotions and give-aways and stay as far away from ManRam as possible.
***
Don’t know if you saw the vicious attack on the Gatorade cooler in Chicago, recently, but if not, take a look. http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090527&content_id=4990698&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=ml
Carlos Zambrano pretty much beats the devil out of the thing.
While my first inclination is to laugh, it made me wonder if Joe DiMaggio or Willie Mays ever went ballistic on a water cooler. More importantly, it made me think of all the kids who saw the video and think it’s OK to lose control like that.
When you see Little Leaguers acting like jerks, these days, you don’t have to look far to figure where it came from.