Bring The Stadium Home

4/12/2007

ARA) - Baseball season is here. While it s certainly exciting to go to the stadium, the majority watch the game from the comfort of their own home. In fact, in 2006, Major League Baseball regular season average viewership grew by 8% over the previous year. National regular season telecasts reached 30+ million total viewers and 16+ million Adult 18-49 viewers each week. With ticket prices high, the chair in front of your TV may actually be the best seat in the house.

While many people watch games in their living room, what a true sports fan needs is a special place to watch the game in comfort and style. A finished basement can make your home the place for baseball games or football or basketball, or whatever sporting event stirs your passion and make you the envy of your friends and neighbors.

The basement may be one of the last places you d consider transforming into the ultimate baseball- watching domain, but many homeowners are finding that a finished basement is the perfect place to create the sports viewing paradise they ve always dreamed of. Best of all, there s still plenty of time to make your home

Baseball Central.

The best way to create a media room is to get specs from the manufacturer of your television or surround sound system, says Gary Kerr, owner of Kerr Contractors, a basement remodeling company.

While much attention has been paid to the new prefabricated panels, Mr. Kerr prefers to use a combination of metal studs and greenboard a mold- and mildew-resistant drywall.

As long as you have a dehumidifier down there, you won t have a problem, he says. You can get one for $40 or $50 that runs quiet, and you ll never notice it.

He says that walls and ceilings can be insulated for sound retention. With a sound barrier in the ceiling, not only will the sound stay in the room, it will enhance the surround sound.

Mr. Kerr says that the average basement remodel is about 300 to 400 square feet and includes HVAC, walls, ceiling, painting, and electrical, and costs $5,000 to $7,000. He says that basements remodeled with prefabricated panels can easily cost three times as much.

So enjoy the best seats in the house in the basement of your house. Go team!

Courtesy of ARA Content.