Stadium

A stadium (plural stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.

Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event at the ancient Greek Olympic festival was the race that comprised one length of the stade at Olympia, where the word "stadium" originated.

Etymology

"Stadium" is the Latin form of the Greek word "stadion" (στάδιον), a measure of length equalling the length of 600 human feet. As feet are of variable length the exact length of a stadion depends on the exact length adopted for 1 foot at a given place and time. Although in modern terms 1 stadion = 600 ft (180 m), in a given historical context it may actually signify a length up to 15% larger or smaller.

The equivalent Roman measure, the stadium, had a similar length — about 185 m (607 ft) - but instead of being defined in feet was defined using the Roman standard passus to be a distance of 125 passūs (double-paces).

NBC Deportes

NBC Deportes is the programming division of the NBC Sports Group, owned by the NBCUniversal Television Group division of NBCUniversal, that is responsible for the production of sports events and magazine programs that air on NBCUniversal's Spanish language television networks Telemundo and NBC Universo. Originating as the former's sports division Deportes Telemundo from 1999 to 2015, it broadcasts an array of sports events, including the association football matches from various international soccer leagues and the Olympic Games, among others.

History

Origins as Deportes Telemundo

The division was originally formed in 1987 as Deportes Telemundo, which at first exclusively served as the sports division of Telemundo, with the acquisition of rights to soccer matches to select teams from the Mexican Primera División (now Liga MX). Following NBC's $2.7 billion purchase of Telemundo Communications Group on October 11, 2001, Deportes Telemundo began to gradually be integrated into NBC Sports, although it would maintain sports programming rights separate from the main NBC broadcast network and its sister cable channels. Under NBC (which ironically lost the rights to the league that year to ABC), On August 20, 2002, Telemundo signed a three-year agreement with the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Spanish language broadcast rights to 15 NBA and up to ten WNBA regular season games; Telemundo and the NBA did not renew the deal upon its expiration following the 2004–05 season.

TD Place Stadium

TD Place Stadium (originally Lansdowne Park and formerly Frank Clair Stadium) is a 24,000-seat stadium in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located at Lansdowne Park, on the southern edge of The Glebe neighbourhood, where Bank Street crosses the Rideau Canal. It is the home of the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the Ottawa Fury FC of the North American Soccer League (NASL). It was known as Frank Clair Stadium until it was renamed on January 7, 2014. It has existed in rudimentary form since the 1870s, and as a complete stadium since 1908.

History

The playing field, part of the Ottawa Exposition Grounds, was first cleared in the 1870s. It was used for equestrian events, lacrosse and rugby football. The first permanent grandstand was built on the north side of the playing field in 1908. It was demolished in 1967 to build a new set of stands with an integrated ice hockey arena underneath, known as the Ottawa Civic Centre.

A small grandstand was built in the 1920s on the south-side of the field, and it was replaced in 1960. A second deck for the south-side was added during the 1970s. As of 2008, prior to lower south-side demolition, the overall stadium had a 30,927 capacity for football.

Ottawa Redblacks

The Ottawa Redblacks (stylized by the Ottawa ownership group in all-caps as REDBLACKS) (French: Le Rouge et Noir d'Ottawa) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL).

The Redblacks are the third CFL team to play in the city. The Ottawa Rough Riders, formed in 1876, were a founding member of the CFL in 1958 and played until 1996. A new Ottawa franchise was formed as the "Renegades" in 2002 and lasted until the end of the 2005 season.

Team facts

History

The Ottawa Renegades abruptly ceased operations prior to the 2006 CFL season. The league liquidated the Renegades roster in a dispersal draft and placed the Ottawa CFL franchise up for sale, with the intent of eventually returning to the city.

Legislative and construction hurdles

On March 25, 2008, an ownership group led by Ottawa 67's owner Jeff Hunt was awarded a franchise. The team planned to begin play in 2010, but cracks in the concrete structure in the south stands of Frank Clair Stadium led to the demolition of those stands and delayed the start of team operations. The league then set a new date of 2013 for the team's debut, but lawsuits forced the delay of reconstruction of the stadium to be pushed back even further. The team and league then announced plans to play at a remodelled Frank Clair Stadium—now called TD Place Stadium—by 2014 if construction remained on schedule. In 2008, the franchise was conditionally awarded the right to host the 2014 Grey Cup game, but Jeff Hunt later indicated that he would like to postpone the game for a few years to give his franchise a better chance to play in the championship game. In any event, after lawsuits and delays, the stadium renovations were not completed until 2014. Hosting the Grey Cup is a condition included in the agreement giving Hunt control of the franchise. A C$7-million franchise fee was reported to have been paid to the CFL.