Alongside Croke Park, there are another 10 gaelic grounds as big or bigger than the second-largest rugby stadium in the country, Munster's Thomond Park, although many will need major renovation to stage an international tournament.
The first phase of a renovation of Hartford Stage's Church Street theater is concluding, and the results will be seen by the public for the first time on Oct. 7 during a preview of "Antony and Cleopatra"; an official unveiling and ticketed event is planned for Oct. 15, followed by a free open house on Oct. 16.
To harmonize their different styles of spending and decorating, they undertook the renovations in stages or compromised.
The chairs, however, were a minor issue compared with the renovation's final stage.
Increasingly, as the Philharmonic examines ways to improve the acoustics of Avery Fisher Hall during an expected renovation, extending the stage into the auditorium — to get some of the musicians out from under the proscenium — seems a good solution.
It is just the beginning of a comprehensive renovation planned in stages over the next five years.
And even though the renovation proceeded in stages, with corners cut left and right, the costs seemed prohibitive.
Imminent plans include some minor renovations, enlarging the stage, removing some seats and updating the lighting and heating".
So in compiling my list of highlights for the year I was pleased to discover that excellent new construction crowded out skillful renovation on New York stages over the past year.
There have also been tensions between City Opera and the New York City Ballet, which share the acoustically poor New York State Theater, over whether the ballet would be financially damaged if City Opera left and whether the two organizations could agree on renovations to the stage if the opera company were to stay.
