Great graphic (along with equally good story (http://nyti.ms/bcO5sn) on public financing of stadiums, especially those used maybe 12 times per year.

 

Recent renovations have reaffirmed the Big House as the Biggest House: Michigan Stadium's official capacity this fall will be a whopping 109,901, moving it ahead of Penn State as the largest sporting edifice in America. (It even says so on Wikipedia.) That's $226 million well-spent.

For some context, 109,901 people will make the stadium the seventh-largest city in Michigan on game days (passing up Ann Arbor, ironically), and is significantly larger than the largest city in Delaware, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire or North Dakota. The combined populations of the largest cities in West Virginia (Charleston, 53,421) and Wyoming (Cheyenne, 55,362) couldn't quite fill it. (And yes, 109,901 is nearly the exact population of the U.S. Virgin Islands at last estimate.)

Oh, and it's getting lights for that special, "mid-to-late 20th Century" ambiance. Penn State, your move.

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Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.

Matt's reference to Penn State is particularly relevant. There are some who want to control costs in college athletics (and some of those may even work at Michigan or Penn State), yet college athletics is caught in what economists call the prisoner's dilemma. If Michigan spends X, Penn State can spend <X and risk falling behind. Or, Penn State can X and the two remain equal. More likely, Penn State will spend >X and move ahead of Michigan. Assuming the latter happens, guess what Michigan does?

H/T to Andy Hutchins at The Sporting Blog for sharing this late last week. Showed it today to my facility class. Highly interesting documentary. Some NSFW language, so be warned.

Wow. This video sure makes Lincoln look like a nice place to live. Future of home of exciting Nebraska-Indiana basketball after the Huskers leave for the Big Ten. (H/T Rob Knapp of SBJ Twitter)