[Topher1]

^^

It's a bit unfair to use American Airlines Arena to say that a downtown ballpark would be unsuccessful in Miami. The fault in this instance is not with Miamian's in general, it's with AAA...

AAA is a beautiful structure no doubt, but it is not typical of the newest trends in sports facility construction. It was designed to be an icon from the bay... not from the street. Huge stairs and wide plazas detach the arena from the city. If architects look to structures like the AAA for inspiration, then you're right, it will be a waste.

The design is a complete contrast from new successful ballparks, like Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and San Diego. These parks truly are integrated into their neighborhoods and include lots of street level amenities (mostly restaurants and sports-themed stores).

From a recent trip to Pittsburgh, here's a few points that I thought illustrated PNC park's amazing success.

-Downtown filled up hours before the game. Pointe Park was very busy, large crowds strolled downtown, businesses seemed very busy. The bridge to the stadium had been closed to auto traffic and lined with vendors. The stadium itself is lined with outdoor restaurants and vendors, and there were people everywhere. The great atmosphere downtown even attracts a good number of non-game attendees. Even during the game, the city seems more alive. Intanglible things, like the roar of the crowd across the river bring so much energy to the town.

- Spin-off development abounds in the area. The design of the stadium encourages people to stay in the area after the game, rather than funneling them to their cars, and thus the neighborhood can support a lot of new businesses. In turn, the increase in amenities has made the area more attractive for residential development.

- The stadium itself is an attraction. It generates foot traffic on non-gamedays. Tourists walk across the bridge to see the stadium. They take pictures, they check out the baseball memorabilia. It's obviously nowhere near the gameday traffic, but enough business is generated to support area businesses when there is no game.

- Possibly most importantly, it's a point of pride. Pittsburghers are very proud of the success of their stadium. It's something that they can rally around and support whole-heartedly. Civic pride is huge for the allure and draw of a downtown area. The park gives Pittsburghers another reason to be proud of and support their great city.


Going back to AAA, I still think it has the opportunity to be a positive catalyst for the area. As more entertainment venues come online downtown (such as Met Square), there will be reason for more and more fans to eschew places like the Grove and the Beach for the emerging downtown scene. Currently it feels almost like a detached entity from the rest of downtown, but the area is filling in more and more, and becoming the kind of place that fans will actually want to stay around.