[MasterOfPuppets]

Originally Posted by xfl2001fan

I could care less about your whiney-assed Colts leaving you. Attendance (or the lack thereof) was a huge reason for leaving. The stadium was an issue...but so was ours...and yet we sold out game after game (and if we didn't sell out, it was still close.)

You are talking about two completely different scenarios.

The Colts were unhappy with the condition of the stadium they played in and Indianapolis offered them a new indoor dome.

Robert Irsay, the Colts owner, had many problems with Baltimore and the stadium, Memorial stadium.

1. Due to being far from the downtown area and any major highway, traffic to and from Colt games was very heavy and tied up traffic and trapped locals in their homes. It was also hard to find being about seven miles fron the downtown area on 33rd street. Many fans got lost getting to or coming from the stadium.

2. The stadium was a very poor football stadium and the seating bowl ended at the fifty yard line, the end zone near 36th street was open taking away money making seats. It also no club level. It was far behind its time.

3. The city of Baltimore would not allow the Colts to play at the NFL's usual start time at one. Instead, they started at two which by law. Sports events were not allow to start before two on Sundays. Because of this the Colts had a hard time being on national T.V.

4. The Orioles, the city's baseball team, also used the stadium and had control over food sales, and parking fees even during football season despite the fact that both teams payed a rent fee.

]5. The team was playing poorly and attentence went to about 20,000 in a stadium that could hold 60,000.

6. The city wanted to upgrade the stadium but both teams had different demands and the city could not make both happy so it did not upgrade the stadium.

In the spring of 1984 the Colts lease on the stadium was up and Irsay wanted a new stadium or to move. Instead of working out plans with Irsay, Maryland's senate passed a law that allowed the state to take the team from him by the powers of eminemt domain. All that was needed was the law to pass by the House of Delegates. That was enough for Irsay to decide what to do. He moved his team Indianapols and its Hoosier Dome. Baltimore did however learn from its mistakes. When the Orioles said they had a lot of the same problems with the stadium (location and condition for example,) and threatened to move to Washington D.C., Baltimore built Oriole Park at Camden Yards . Just six years later they would build M&T Bank Stadium for a new NFL team, the Ravens.

here's a few facts i wasn't aware of... after reading this, i can't hardly blame irsay !!!