Cookie Cutter Stadiums

Back in the age of the round cookie cutter multipurpose stadiums, few remember that Atlanta Stadium was the second to be built. Critics rail on the short life of the stadium, though five of the other seven cookie-cutters had similar lifespans – as did the multipurpose domes and other expanded stadiums that make the secondary list below. The dates record only the time the stadium was fully enclosed, though the stadium may have opened years earlier. 

I’ve been to or seen half of the 16 stadiums on the list. Above: Atlanta Stadium, with Centennial Olympic Stadium in the foreground, with the Georgia Dome in the distance.

1961 2007 47 45596 RFK Stadium Washington (been)

1965 1996 32 52007 Atlanta Stadium (been)

1965 1999 34 47879 Astrodome (seen)

1966 2005 40 57673 Busch Memorial Stadium (been)

1970 2000 31 58729 Three Rivers Stadium Pittsburgh

1970 2002 33 52952 Riverfront Stadium Cincinnati (seen)

1970 2013 44 62000 Candlestick Park San Francisco

1971 2003 33 56371 Veterans Stadium Philadelphia

1976 2008 33 45757 Olympic Stadium Montreal

1976 1999 23 59166 Kingdome, Seattle

1980 1996 27 65158 Anaheim Stadium (seen)

1982 2013 31 46564 Metrodome Minneapolis  

1989 2021 33 50598 Skydome Toronto

1990 2021 32 45369 Tropicana Field St Petersburg (been)

1996 2019 24 55945 Oakland Alameda Coliseum (seen)

1997 2016 20 67544 Jack Murphy Stadium San Diego

I never made the connection that the roofline of old Busch Memorial Stadium was based on the St. Louis Gateway Arch.

Hank Aaron hit the first home run in Riverfront Stadium, as well as his 714th. While RFK and Olympic Stadium have lost their baseball tenants, both cities have used the ballparks for other purposes. RFK is slated to be demolished next year.

In the late 1970’s the Rams moved to Anaheim Stadium and converted the baseball-only ballpark to a trapezoid-like enclosed stadium. When the Rams moved out, the stadium was converted back to baseball-only.

Candlestick Park opened in 1960 as a baseball-only stadium with the stands looking out over the bay. Ten years later the 49ers moved in, and the stadium was enclosed.

The Raiders moved into Oakland Alameda Coliseum in 1966, but the outfield wasn’t enclosed until the team returned from Los Angeles in 1996.

Other baseball stadiums that have hosted football games. Did I leave any out?

AT&T Park San Francisco (bowl)

Chase Field Phoenix (bowl)

County Stadium Milwaukee (Packers)

Fenway Park (Patriots & Redskins)

Los Angeles Coliseum (Dodgers)

Luther Williams Field Macon (UGA/GT)

Metropolitan Stadium Minneapolis (Vikings)

Mile High Stadium Denver (Broncos)

Municipal Stadium Baltimore (Colts)

Municipal Stadium Cleveland (Browns)

Shea Stadium (Jets)

SunTrust Park (Kennesaw)

Tiger Stadium (Lions)

Turner Field (Georgia State)

Wrigley Field (Bears)

Yankee Stadium (Giants)

Jim Denison elaborates on censorship of Christians in media, and lists current examples. “Let me be clear: no one should do what Twitter and Facebook prohibit. Christians should…remember God’s word explicitly forbids slander (Psalm 101:5; Prov 10:18) and commands us, “Do not speak evil against one another” (James 4:11). Here’s the problem: biblical morality is considered “hateful conduct” by some. They view biblical prohibitions as prejudice. If an individual claims that an article expressing such prohibitions is “dehumanizing speech” or a statement of “inferiority,” that article could be blocked by social media. Even if the writer avoids any language that could be objectively viewed as hateful, the expression of biblical morality could be enough to provoke censorship.” How should Christians respond?

1. Make clear the fact that God loves all people, whatever their sexual orientation or gender identity. Our language should always reflect God’s passion and compassion for all people. We are all broken and sinful (Rom 3:23). We are all in need of grace (Eph 2:8–9). As a result, we must always speak the truth in love (Eph 4:15). Speech that slanders is sinful.

2. Speak biblical truth with clarity and grace. Our culture needs to hear God’s word on sexual identity and morality because his word is best for us and his will is “perfect” (Romans 12:2). Ryan T. Anderson recently noted in the Wall Street Journal, the claims that an unborn child is a child and that girls should not have to compete athletically with boys are not only religious in nature but statements of fact. We should assert that our beliefs “are true, not merely protected in law.”

3. Pay the price of our convictions. When orthodox biblical morality that has been affirmed for more than twenty centuries becomes castigated as “hate speech,” we can choose to be silenced or we can choose to be courageous. Jesus’ promised: “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 5:10).

4. Respond to opposition: as followers of Jesus, we are to declare and defend biblical morality “with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15). But if we have spoken the truth in love, we are assured that “those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame” (v. 16b). The more we respond to opposition with grace, the more we glorify our Lord.

https://www.denisonforum.org/columns/daily-article/is-censorship-escalating-against-evangelicals-three-biblical-responses/