Reinventing the Venue

A surprising, and compelling trend has swept the sports world: playing games in unconventional venues. This of course started with the NHL, which staged a 2003 outdoor exhibition game in an Edmonton CFL stadium. They of course upped the ante on New Year's Day this year with a riveting regular season game in Buffalo's Ralph Wilson stadium. Universally praised by the mainstream media, the Penguins/Sabres game seems to have spawned a new craze.

The NBA announced that it will play a preseason game in Indian Wells, CA, while the NHL is looking into staging the final sporting event at Yankee Stadium. However, the most intriguing oddball sporting venue will be on display later this month, when the Red Sox and Dodgers will play at LA Memorial Colisseum to commerate the team's 50 years in LA. The Dodgers used to play all of their home games there, using a field configuration with a 251-foot porch in left field.

Here's hoping this trend continues. How about a Detroit Tigers game at the Big House? A Brewers game at Lambeau field? Or a Celtics game at Fenway Park? As if you wouldn't love to see Kevin Garnett dunking in the shadow of the green monster.