The Rise of Stadiums in the Modern United States: Cathedrals of Sport

by Dyreson; Mark

• ISBN13: 9780415499989
• ISBN10: 0415499984
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-11-17
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Many Americans know more about the stadiums that loom over their cityscapes or college campuses than they do about any other aspect of the nation'¬"s geography. Stadiums serve as iconic monuments of urban and university identities. Indeed, the power of sport in modern American culture has produced '¬Üsportscapes'¬"'¬ ;landscapes literally shaped by their devotion to athletic competition. Curiously, given the importance of the secular cathedrals in American culture, historians have paid little attention to these edifices. The Rise of Stadiums in the Modern United States: Cathedrals of Sportseeks to remedy that oversight. This book will analyze stadiums from a variety of perspectives, paying special attention to the links between the '¬Übuilt environment'¬" in which Americans watch and play games and the larger social environments that the nation'¬"s sporting practices inhabit. The Rise of Stadiums in the Modern United States: Cathedrals of Sport explores the role of stadiums in shaping urban identities, determining the economics of intercollegiate athletics, influencing local and national politics. This book was previously published as a special issue of the International Journal of the History of Sport.

Table of Contents

Series Editors' Foreword	p. vii
Other Titles in the Series	p. x
Prologue-Cathedrals of Sport: Mapping New Territories	p. 1
Setting the Scene-Bridging the Gap between Knowledge and Practice: When Americans Really Built Programmes to Foster Healthy Lifestyles, 1918-1940	p. 8
Far More Than Commercialism: Stadium Building from Harvard's Innovations to Stanford's 'Dirt Bowl'	p. 34
If We Build It Will They Come? The Plans for a National Stadium and American Olympic Desires	p. 56
'Ivy-Coloured Glasses': The Myth of Wrigley Field	p. 74
Stadiums, Boosters, Politicians and Major League Baseball's Reluctance to Expand: An Exploration of Post-Second World War US Trends	p. 92
From 'The Finest Ballpark in America' to 'The Jewel of the Waterfront': The Construction of San Francisco's Major League Baseball Stadiums	p. 110
If They Built It? Stadium Dreams and Rustbelt Realities in Cleveland	p. 128
Civil Rights and Sports Landmarks: Discrimination, Jobs and Activism in the Construction of Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium	p. 146
Epilogue - Cathedrals of Sport: Reflections on the Past, Present and Future	p. 164
Index	p. 173
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