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Stadium construction has altered the physical landscape of many major metropolitan areas throughout North America and has had a profound psychological and economic impact on these urban centers. The ways athletic facilities have been constructed, from the ritual-centered beginnings of stadium construction in ancient Greece to the large-scale construction of professional sports facilities in present day global centers, reveal a culture's values and priorities and how it defines its recreational needs.

Drawing on thorough and wide-ranging research, Robert C. Trumpbour examines the political institutions, commercial entities, civic leadership, and media organizations that influenced stadium construction. The author analyzes three significant recent historical periods: the Progressive Era, when modern fireproof stadiums were first built; the late 1960s and early 1970s, when multipurpose stadiums were built in downtown areas to promote urban redevelopment; and the late 1990s, when retro ballparks were designed to accommodate commercial and entertainment space. Charting this evolution,
Trumpbour convincingly argues that there has been a dramatic shift in the role of the media, with media access emerging as a vital element in setting the ground rules for the debate on stadium construction. Written in lucid, jargon-free prose, this book combines a detailed history of stadium construction with an analysis of current stadium issues.

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CHOICE Review

Though its title suggests that this book highlights the importance of major-league sports venues in modern American cities, Trumpbour (communication, Pennsylvania State Univ., Altoona) does not dwell on the place professional sports occupy in the urban psyche. Assuming the importance of sports for the collective identity of a modern metropolis, the author shows how wealthy team owners have manipulated tax-paying citizens in order to persuade them to subsidize renovation or new construction costing hundreds of millions of dollars (the most common tactic is a threat to move the team to a more generous locale). Owners' campaigns for subsidies are almost invariably supported by cities' political and economic elites: no mayor wants to see a team depart during his or her term in office, and all corporate executives are aware of the prestige conferred by an NFL or Major League Baseball team. Trumpbour analyzes the major role played by the mass media, especially the local press, which often publish exaggerated claims of the franchise's economic benefit to the community. Of the subsidized construction of Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium, Trumpbour notes wryly that the county "could have purchased the team outright for less than it ... cost to build a stadium." Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-/upper-division undergraduates, graduate students, general readers. A. Guttmann Amherst College

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Robert C. Trumpbour is assistant professor of communications at Pennsylvania State University, Altoona College. He has written numerous articles on media studies and stadium construction.