March 11, 2011
Falcons stadium site is bleak, uninviting
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which is doing a great job of actually researching the Atlanta Falcons' $700 million stadium proposal instead of just reprinting what the team and elected officials say like so many papers do, takes a look today at whether the stadium would be a catalyst for the surrounding neighborhood. Verdict: Not too likely, mostly because it's not much of a neighborhood to begin with:
Once pedestrians pass the restaurants and a few converted condos, however, the area becomes less inviting. Train tracks cut through the area, pushing low-slung, two- and three-story vacant buildings right up to the sidewalk. Walking is hazardous. Uneven pavement juts up in places and the sidewalk becomes increasingly narrow. The NFL has few such uninviting thresholds.
The AJC cites local urban designer Cassie Branum as saying that successful entertainment districts near baseball parks usually feature strong transit, viable community leadership, and walkable blocks. All of which is true, but another commonality is that they were almost always at least partially developed before the stadium came into being. The number of "just add stadium and stir" entertainment districts can be counted on the fingers of ... let's see, how is that D.C. entertainment district coming? Anyone? Hallooooooo?
This reminds me of the area around the Bridgeport CT independent minor league ballpark (that was heavily subsidized by the local government, IIRC); the area is cut off from the rest of Bridgeport by I-95 and train tracks, it does not feel at all walkable, and it is as desolate and uninviting as these places get. I am certainly no expert in this area, but I am skeptical that such sites can be made to be friendly and walkable when they are intrinsically not that way at all.
Posted by Christine Fry on March 11, 2011 09:17 AM
Neil has a real case of 'Stadiafreude'.
(Like schadenfreude but with stadiums) ;p
That area reminds me a lot of the area proposed for Sacramento's arena. If you had told me those pictures were at the corner of 7th and F, I couldn't have argued with you.
Ironically, though, it could even be worse, because the very old neighborhood near there, Alkali Flats, while it currently has a lot of issues, is now getting recognition as being somewhat historic. Lots of very old houses (some approaching 200 years old now) with an interesting history are starting to get some TLC. If you think about it, those are the kind of houses you probably don't want in the shadow of someone's arena dream.
Posted by MikeM on March 11, 2011 11:52 AM
I live about 5 minutes from the "Rays" stadium (Tropicana field), at any rate, people expected that once a stadium was built that all sorts of restaurants etc., would open up. It hasn't happened, how can places survive the other months that the "sport" is being played? I think they forgot that part.
Posted by Wade on March 11, 2011 02:05 PM
To be fair, Blank has never stated that he wanted any kind of entertainment district surrounding a new stadium. In fact, he wants the opposite. He wants open space for tailgating. Remember that football and baseball/basketball/hockey are completely different. The latter 3 sports don't draw tailgaters (except for baseball in Milwaukee), so entertainment districts surrounding the stadium make sense. Not so for football.
Posted by Ben on March 15, 2011 10:10 AM