News item:
Arlington, Rangers expected to unveil plan for new stadium

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A roof over a baseball stadium?! What a ridiculous idea. That’s what they said back in 1965 when they opened the Astrodome in Houston. But, now, there are seven such stadiums, six with retractable roofs, and one with a fixed roof. (Read the list here).

I was having a conversation about the Texas Rangers soon-to-be-announced new stadium – with a roof (and, air conditioning!). They should have built the current stadium with a roof. But, they did not, and many believe it was a big mistake. It looks like they are about to fix that problem.

And I got to thinking — I just revisited the book Exponential Organizations by Salim Ismail, and remembered this:

Peter Diamandis is fond of saying, “The day before a major breakthrough, it is just a crazy idea.” 


Now, there are some warnings here. Once the world changes, you can’t do things yesterday’s way. You have to get there early. If you get there late, it may already be too late.

Not far from my house is a multiplex called Hollywood USA. I’m pretty sure it was the last such movie complex that opened in the Dallas area without stadium seating. The world changed, stadium seating was available at all the new complexes, and Hollywood USA had a short-lived reputation as the place to see the current movies.

And, I remember reading about Reunion Arena, the former home of the Dallas Mavericks, being among the last basketball arenas to be built without luxury boxes.

And recently, I drove by the site of the new Dallas Cowboys center now being built in Frisco. I thought of how much the world has changed. The current Dallas Cowboys facility is pretty much offices (the team’s offices), dressing rooms, and practice fields. In this new center, there will be offices, entertainment, restaurants, a stadium to be used by local high schools, and, oh yes, the Cowboys practice fields and locker rooms.

What worked yesterday may not work for much longer!

And now, coming around the bend is Amazon and grocery delivery, and apps, and newly imagined uses of the iPhone (and other SmartPhones) that we haven’t yet even dreamed of, and…

Here’s the rule of the era:

You have to ask “What’s next?”
And then, you have to get there early?

If you get there late, it really, truly may be too late!