Big, really big.
Beijing's famous "Bird's Nest" has one event on it's schedule for 2009, one. On August 8th, the stadium will host Puccini’s opera “Turandot".
The $450 million, 91,000-seat stadium doesn't have a tenant. Plans called for the local Chinese Super League club, Beijing Guoan, to move into the stadium following the Olympics. Guoan balked at these plans after seeing the rental fee. A somewhat strange part of this story is that the Bird's Nest is run by CITIC group, the company also owns most of Guoan through a subsidiary called CITIC Guoan. That tells you that the rent must be somewhat exorbitant.
Somewhat stranger is that China's national soccer team doesn't have any matches scheduled at the supposed National Stadium, instead choosing random venues throughout the country.
Beijing does have three other clubs who could potentially (though the changes are about as thin as my arms) call the stadium home. Hongdeng, and BIT both play in the second-tier Jia League, while minnows Baxy play in the third level Yi League.
A stadium which has a horrible reputation as a white elephant is Montreal's Stade Olympique, a major difference between "the Big O" and the Bird's Nest is that the Montreal venue has actually had regular tenants, the Bird's Nest has lost it's best bet to the aging (albeit recently refurbished) Workers Stadium.
Of the other recent Olympic Stadiums, only Seoul's (1998) Jamsil could be lumped into this category though it does see use as a concert venue, and occasionally by tiny Seoul United. That said, Espanyol will soon decamp Barcelona's 1992 stadium for greener pastures in Cornellà de Llobregat leaving the future of that stadium up in the air. With that, the stadium has been in use since 1927.
The Bird's Nest, however iconic it may be, will surely serve as a very large warning sign for the future to not bite off more than you can chew.
Showing posts with label Olympics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Olympics. Show all posts
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Becky Hammon is not the devil
She isn't.
The flack Becky Hammon has received for playing basketball at the Olympics as a Russian is shocking, disgusting, and incredibly trashy.
Becky Hammon is a highly respected basketball player, she is rated as one of the top guards in the world. More importantly, by all accounts she's a sweet, engaging woman who would never wish harm on anyone. Becky has played in the WNBA for 10-seasons and has never once been approached by the US Women's national basketball team to play a game, not even during minor events such as the Pan-American games. Becky's talent was ignored until she applied for Russian citizenship.
During the offseason Hammon suppliments her rather paltry WNBA salary by playing professionally in Russia for CSKA Moscow, recently Becky signed a $2-million contract with Moscow multi-sport outfit after receiving her Russian passport. This led many self-styled defenders of all things American to label Becky a "whore" who "sold herself" to Russia. Becky did not sell herself to Russia, Becky applied for Russian citizenship to help her club CSKA. In Russia teams are limited by the amount of foreign players they can field, by getting a Russian passport Becky has freed up a "non-Russian" spot on her team's roster, allowing them to bring in another foreign player. Becky did not sell herself to the Russian basketball federation. Becky is not a whore.
One thing the heat Becky has taken for daring to pursue her Olympic dream has led me to ask is where was this heat when Mike Piazza represented Italy at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, or the 2006 World Baseball Classic? If a Pennsylvanian can play for Italy then a South Dakotan can play for Russia. I don't care where Piazza's Grandparents come from, he's as American as Becky Hammon, if Becky is a traitor than so is Piazza. If Becky is a traitor than so are the eighteen American's who represented Greece's baseball team in 2004 (Greece's only baseball stadium has since been converted for soccer use for anyone wondering why baseball won't feature in London 2012).
Moreover, why are we allowed to import athletes but Russia isn't? There's a very famous former American international male basketball player who plays professionally in the same city as Hammon, but his country has their own basketball team.
Hmmm.
"God loves Russia just as much as God loves America.", you couldn't be more right, Becky. God loves everyone, but he doesn't like hatefulness. Think about that.
The flack Becky Hammon has received for playing basketball at the Olympics as a Russian is shocking, disgusting, and incredibly trashy.
Becky Hammon is a highly respected basketball player, she is rated as one of the top guards in the world. More importantly, by all accounts she's a sweet, engaging woman who would never wish harm on anyone. Becky has played in the WNBA for 10-seasons and has never once been approached by the US Women's national basketball team to play a game, not even during minor events such as the Pan-American games. Becky's talent was ignored until she applied for Russian citizenship.
During the offseason Hammon suppliments her rather paltry WNBA salary by playing professionally in Russia for CSKA Moscow, recently Becky signed a $2-million contract with Moscow multi-sport outfit after receiving her Russian passport. This led many self-styled defenders of all things American to label Becky a "whore" who "sold herself" to Russia. Becky did not sell herself to Russia, Becky applied for Russian citizenship to help her club CSKA. In Russia teams are limited by the amount of foreign players they can field, by getting a Russian passport Becky has freed up a "non-Russian" spot on her team's roster, allowing them to bring in another foreign player. Becky did not sell herself to the Russian basketball federation. Becky is not a whore.
One thing the heat Becky has taken for daring to pursue her Olympic dream has led me to ask is where was this heat when Mike Piazza represented Italy at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, or the 2006 World Baseball Classic? If a Pennsylvanian can play for Italy then a South Dakotan can play for Russia. I don't care where Piazza's Grandparents come from, he's as American as Becky Hammon, if Becky is a traitor than so is Piazza. If Becky is a traitor than so are the eighteen American's who represented Greece's baseball team in 2004 (Greece's only baseball stadium has since been converted for soccer use for anyone wondering why baseball won't feature in London 2012).
Moreover, why are we allowed to import athletes but Russia isn't? There's a very famous former American international male basketball player who plays professionally in the same city as Hammon, but his country has their own basketball team.
Hmmm.
"God loves Russia just as much as God loves America.", you couldn't be more right, Becky. God loves everyone, but he doesn't like hatefulness. Think about that.
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