$1 Billion To Redo Sydney Opera House?

“This is the plan to fully realise Joern Utzon’s vision for the building by creating an interior that is worthy of its sublime exterior. It involves nothing less than a complete rebuilding of the problematic Opera Theatre, with more room, better sound and sightlines, and a richly conceived decorative scheme. The renewal project would take seven years, employ up to 3000 people and cost an estimated $900 million. Some reports have rounded up the figure to $1 billion.”

Is UK’s New Terrorism Law On Visas Restricting Artists?

“Organisations acting as sponsors must pay anything up to £1,000 for the privilege. This is proving prohibitive for some smaller companies around the world, and there is growing concern from us at the Royal Opera House, the Southbank Centre, the National Theatre and artists such as Antony Gormley, among others, that the new system has begun to affect the richness and excellence of the UK’s cultural offering.”

Play Ball — In Your New, Retro-Classic Stadium

The Yankees and the Mets are about to unveil their new ballparks, each designed by HOK Sport. The latest Yankee Stadium “has tried hard, very hard, to make us think of its predecessor, with sumptuous architectural effects that have the self-important air of a new courthouse built to look as if it had been there since William Howard Taft was President.” The Mets’ new home, “Citi Field, which people are already calling TARP Field, or Bailout Park … is pleasanter in every way than the harsh stadium it replaces.”