Missouri’s Rams stadium plan would raze 19th-century warehouses, because more where those came from, right?

access_time personNeil deMause

I’m an unabashed fan of plain-language reporting that doesn’t beat around the bush, so I absolutely love this video caption from KSDK-TV in St. Louis:

In order to build the new stadium the way it’s proposed, a lot of things would have to be torn down.

KSDK’s news report includes footage of lots of those things, which includes lots of cool old brick warehouses, some of which are abandoned, but at least one of which is on the National Register of Historic Places and has been recently renovated as apartments. Which raises the question of whether others could be renovated for new uses as well in the absence of a stadium, especially since “brick buildings” and “waterfront” usually get developers’ salivary glands going in these return-to-urbanism times.

I’ve talked a lot so far about the direct fiscal costs of St. Louis’s Rams stadium plan — for some reason the St. Louis Business Journal decided to base an entire article today around my comments on this — but the opportunity cost of razing old buildings and dedicating riverfront land to an NFL stadium has to be considered as well. I’m hardly an expert on the Laclede’s Landing area (I’ve never even been to St. Louis), but those who are need to be investigating this to the fullest. So props to KDSK for looking into this, above and beyond their excellent caption-writing skills.

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7 comments on “Missouri’s Rams stadium plan would raze 19th-century warehouses, because more where those came from, right?”

  1. They tried that in Portland’s Pearl District, and all they ended up with was a bunch of nice condos in sturdy old buildings, full of people. A free football stadium would have been so much better use of that land.

  2. Neil, next time you’re in the neighborhood, you should stop in to see StL. It has to have the worst urban planning on earth. The downtown b-ball stadium is surrounded on all sides by massive parking garages which creates a dead zone the size of mid-town Manhattan (only sight exaggeration). The arch for which the town is famous: they torn down about 40 acres of buildings like Laclede’s. And of course, it is separated from downtown by a six lane highway. No football stadium is going to fix that.

  3. Hey, Joe, Did you know they are building a new park/walkway over those highway lanes to make a safer route to the arch.

  4. Hi Neil,

    You state “I’ve never even been to St. Louis”. Are you more or less likely to ever visit depending on whether or not the Rams continue to reside there?

  5. The last football game I attended was a USFL game. Does that answer your question?

    I would be kind of interested in checking out that abandoned warehouse district, though.

  7. As someone who works directly South of this area and has spent a lot of time around there. I implore you to come to STL, walk this area and tell me how historical and beautiful this area is. It is a ghost town of abandoned buildings and warehouses between a freeway and river. On paper I know you are hanging on to historical building, but come on 56 studio apartments?

    The money is another story, but please don’t make this area something it is not.

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