The Arena ─ Inside the Tailgating, Ticket-Scalping, Mascot-Racing, Dubiously Funded, and Possibly Haunted Monuments of American Sport

The American sports stadium, in all its raucous glory, is a shockingly overlooked centerpiece of our national culture. In this game-changing romp, intrepid sportswriter Rafi Kohan finagles access to our most beloved fields to find out just what makes them tick: from old-timer Wrigley, creakily adjusting to the twenty-first century, to the flashy new lights of Jerry’s World in Dallas; from the roller-coaster economy of LeBron’s Cleveland to the perennial frenzy around the Big House in Ann Arbor. Investigating quirky logistics and deeply ingrained traditions that encourage rowdy customs— like scalper turf wars, window-shattering fighter-jet flyovers, and death-defying halftime acts—Kohan debunks reductive truisms to expose the often punishing realities of building and maintaining these commercial cathedrals of sports worship. Rollicking and unforgettable, The Arena is a must-read for super fans, shameless bandwagoners, athletes, broadcasters, umpires, groundskeepers, architects, culture junkies, tailgaters, and anyone who’s ever eagerly headed off to the ballpark to catch a game.