a recession

With nearly 50 years of work experience in amusement parks, stadiums, arenas, convention centers, and the like the answer is simple. It is not so much the emotion of the shared experience with the entire crowd, it is absolutely the shared experience with those you want to be with. Most often this includes a "family" experience. My parents took me to hear the big bands at Cedar Point amusement park (long before it became the great ride park of today). I value that shared experience. My Grandfather, a life time Cleveland Indians fan took us by train to see the games. I value that experince more today than in the past. Our family and school groups visited the great museums of the day, Greenfield Village/Henry Ford Museum in Michigan and Wright Patterson Airbase near Dayton, Ohio. All of these were shared with them and many others. In truth we value the experience because it creates indelable memories. And yes we can make these with perfect straingers who are there for their own reasons. I am proud that I have spent my working lifetime in an industry that caters to others when they want and need to build memories and pack these away to share in their own mind in the future. HOK now populous has been in this business for a long time and we who know applaud the efforts made by so many able and experienced industry professionals. We build memories that last a life time!

Desire to experience something greater than day-to-day life and share it with others.

Love for the life!

A desire to interact with people who have a the same or a common interest in something (sport, hobby, music, etc.)

a myriad of things...much of which remains a mystery...

Shared vision and similar interests with passion and enthusiasm

Size, color, smell, excitement, sounds - a confluence of too many things in a relatively small place - a stadium. We have been infatuated by this since before the Roman Coliseum was designed.

Privately financed stadiums in sunny locations

Art, music, love, sport, a crisis, fear, celebrations, joy, laughter, proximity, distance, similarities, differences. Shared experiences bring us together.