The Times podcast: Coyotes go urban; humans freak out at ‘Bald Adept’
Last week, I posted a story about the New York State Fair’s decision to allow professional hockey teams to call games at Madison Square Garden, even if they only occasionally play there. I’m not one for overplaying my hand, but I’d like to be more precise: New York State Fair officials decided they wanted to be able to play all their games in Madison Square Garden, while offering concessions in the arena and offering the New York State of Mind fair, which featured “hands-on” exhibits with live demonstrations and games.
That was all well and good. It seemed like a reasonable way for a non-traditional sporting event to take on a new role in the city, one that would benefit everybody and not just New York City sports fans. I thought it was a good move.
Then came the Arizona Coyotes’ announcement that they would be moving their team from a small, local arena to an enormous, global venue with a retractable roof. In my piece, I speculated about what that might mean for the arena market, and I asked readers to weigh in with their opinions on the matter. A few people wrote to tell me exactly what they thought, and I got a few interesting responses.
First off, here’s David D. Taylor, whose comment from last week’s post:
“I love this idea, but I also think this is the worst of both worlds. On one hand, I like having the arena where everyone in the city has an experience. On the other hand, what does it mean if they all have an experience? We know now that even with the best of intentions, things can get out of hand. As the years go by, we will probably see more and more out-of-control events. There will be more and more events than can be attended,