Bob's Bullets ... Joining a lawsuit to stop demolition of Jingu Stadium
TOKYO — I took part in a discussion at the National Diet last Friday about the problematic redevelopment plan of Meiji Jingu and the historic 97-year-old Meiji Jingu Kyujo — site of historic Big Six University Baseball competition and home ballpark of the Yakult Swallows.
The stadium, surrounded by greenery, has long been an oasis of relaxation in the middle of a crowded, noisy capital. It reeks of history and is one of the few stadiums in the world still standing where the great Babe Ruth played. The others are Boston’s Fenway Park, Chicago’s Wrigley Field and Nishinomiya’s Koshien Stadium. All three of those historic stadiums have been renovated internally, keeping their famous and beloved facades. Meiji Jingu Kyujo, however, is slated to be demolished, moved up the street, and rebuilt, exchanging places with the Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground. The new plan calls for surrounding the stadium with three skyscrapers, as part of a new business and shopping center, with a 20-story hotel built into the infield stands, while the new rugby stadium will be domed, the better for concert use.
This is purely a money-making venture for Mitsui Fudosan and others, including Tokyo Metropolitan Government officials, as surveys show the vast majority of Tokyoites oppose the plan and prefer keeping the original structures with internal renovations.
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