LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 4.0

[bobcat]

Originally Posted by ThreeHundred

I'm glad Chick Hearn will finally be made into a plaza (why it isn't one already is beyond me) but I would love to see some sort of fountain somewhere.

Look closely--there is one. Not the biggest fountain, but it's there.

This plaza could host farmers markets and summer concerts in addition to the winter Kings On Ice skating rink. I'm actually jazzed about the latter since the Nokia Plaza rink is pretty lame. This one looks to be about twice as big.

[JDRCRASH]

This calls for another update!

[patriotizzy]

Hoooooooooly shyzza! Those new renderings nearly made me wet my pants in excitement!

[IDIOT]

Originally Posted by Illithid Dude

Oh, look, more renderings. This are of the new Convention Center/Farmers Field thing.

Is that a new electronic display on the face entrance of STAPLES?? (where the nfl logo/gameday is)

[BrandonJXN]

There has been talk about putting LED banners on Staples Center. So we'll see.

[citywatch]

I believe the most $$ football stadium in the country right now is the one in dallas. A bldg that is considered the most fan friendly, with the most lavish features. It has gigantic screens hanging above the field, which probably means many spectators end up watching the screens instead of the live action on the field. So it's almost like they're sitting at home watching TV.

But for all those $$, & all those fan friendly features, notice how its surroundings don't seem to have too many ped friendly & publicly interesting features....



espn.go.com


this yr's Super Bowl was held in a football stadium in dt indianapolis that's supposedly more interconnected with its hood. Many members of the media said that's why it worked out so well. But based on a google street view I did of that bldg several wks ago, even that stadium doesn't seem as well connected to things of interest right outside its perimeter as it could be.

If Farmers field is built, I think it will be one of the most ped friendly stadiums in the country, in that ppl won't have to walk through miles of parking lots or non public devlpt before getting to the front entrance. however, I've heard that's bad cuz there's no place for tailgating. Or what takes place in big parking lots when ppl in cars use them like campers & hang out with other ppl. I don't know enough about football culture to know how much value that brings to fans, but partying in parking lots doesn't sound too thrilling to me. but I guess ymmv.

[ChelseaFC]

Angelenos can adapt. AEG is working hard to frame this as a transit-oriented development. But I agree, tailgating is overrated. I'd much rather be packed into local bars downtown with all my fellow fans rather than scorching away in a sea of asphalt on the back of a pickup.

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by Illithid Dude

That is excruciatingly ugly. And no residential component to go with it? It looks like something on Van Nuys.

Originally Posted by ThreeHundred

I'd rather have the burned out building than this boil.

talk about debbie downers . if you don't behave yourselves, I'm going to start posting pics of all those beauty shots of dt----esp the ones of broadway I inserted in here last yr----I've gotten through google street view.

however, the proposed devlpt will be if it's covered in stucco & ends up looking like a new version of the old bldg on Fig st where hooters is located. That's the bldg that originally had a brick exterior, but was resurfaced in stucco & then painted one big mass of blue.

I think the bigger concern right now is the owner has been apparently so lazy that he's not done anything with the bldg since it burned down a few yrs ago. If he's similar to all the other absentee owners on broadway who've allowed their properties to rot away for yrs & yrs & yrs----but grabbed whatever $$ they could squeeze out of their bldgs from all the swapmeets they rent to----then that's not a hopeful sign.

[Valyrian Steel]

Originally Posted by citywatch

however, I've heard that's bad cuz there's no place for tailgating. Or what takes place in big parking lots when ppl in cars use them like campers & hang out with other ppl. I don't know enough about football culture to know how much value that brings to fans, but partying in parking lots doesn't sound too thrilling to me. but I guess ymmv.

I've never been to a football game, but it happens at concerts as well. Basically people like to eat and get drunk in the parking lot while listening to music from their car stereos before an event begins, nothing you can't do at home. But apparently the plan for Farmers Field includes a "massive outdoor tailgating area".

[BrandonJXN]

I wouldn't compare Farmers Field to Cowboys Stadium. A better comparison would be CenturyLink Field in Seattle. In the sense that there might not be a lot of room to tailgate but there are plenty of bars and restaraunts nearby so there won't be a need to tailgate.

[colemonkee]

Tailgating is part and parcel to the live football experience. I've been a season ticket holder at USC for almost 10 years, and I consider myself late if I don't arrive to campus 3 hours before kickoff. USC and UCLA have plenty of room around their stadiums to tailgate (USC has campus and Exposition Park, and UCLA has the open spaces and golf course around the Rose Bowl), so they're okay.

AEG will have to address this issue adequately to get the NFL's full sign-off on the downtown stadium (the NFL has already publicly expressed concern about a perceived lack of space to tailgate around the proposed stadium). The plaza areas around Staples and the convention center, turning Chick Hearn Ct. into a pedestrian plaza, and the roof of the garage on Georgia and Chick Hearn Ct. are a good start, but not fully adequate, in many people's minds.

I suspect that the whole Avenue of Angels concept is AEG's way to address this issue in the long term. AEG's not stupid: I think they expect the many surface lots in the area to be developed over the next 5-10 years, which would remove them from tailgating access. But having Francisco street as a pedestrian throughway that they can close off to vehicular traffic during game days would provide a lot of room for additional roaming tailgating, like what happens on campus at USC. Tailgating doesn't have to occur at your car or truck. It can be somewhere else, alongside other tailgaters, so long as it's permitted. AEG's comparison to the French Quarter was, in my opinion, speaking directly to the issue of a pedestrian street where outdoor drinking - and open containers - could be permitted on certain days, like game days. I don't think they are naive enough to think that the true essence of the French Quarter could be recreated using modern architecture - or at least the architecture they seem to gravitate towards.

They are just looking to create - and plant the seeds for - a special district that will allow outdoor drinking on game days. Just be ready for (a rather reasonable) argument against having taxpayers fund the policing of this to surface. There will certainly be a lot of debate over the coming months around this, but conceptually I think the plan is a smart one, and addresses some of the NFL's concerns.

Whether or not AEG can pull it off is another thing. But if they're anything, they are deep-pocketed, very politically savvy, and persistent as hell. So if anyone has a shot at doing it, it's them.

[ChelseaFC]

Tailgating is certainly a staple of Saturday afternoons on beautiful college campuses, but there are plenty of urban NFL stadiums with a lack of wide open parking spaces. Perhaps LA can take a cue from the Seahawks as proof that you can have a lively gameday atmosphere without expansive parking lots for tailgating. One massive street festival before the game on Avenue of Angels and Chick Hearn Way with a bunch of restaurants and bars would be fantastic.

[pesto]

Originally Posted by colemonkee

Tailgating is part and parcel to the live football experience. I've been a season ticket holder at USC for almost 10 years, and I consider myself late if I don't arrive to campus 3 hours before kickoff. USC and UCLA have plenty of room around their stadiums to tailgate (USC has campus and Exposition Park, and UCLA has the open spaces and golf course around the Rose Bowl), so they're okay.

AEG will have to address this issue adequately to get the NFL's full sign-off on the downtown stadium (the NFL has already publicly expressed concern about a perceived lack of space to tailgate around the proposed stadium). The plaza areas around Staples and the convention center, turning Chick Hearn Ct. into a pedestrian plaza, and the roof of the garage on Georgia and Chick Hearn Ct. are a good start, but not fully adequate, in many people's minds.

I suspect that the whole Avenue of Angels concept is AEG's way to address this issue in the long term. AEG's not stupid: I think they expect the many surface lots in the area to be developed over the next 5-10 years, which would remove them from tailgating access. But having Francisco street as a pedestrian throughway that they can close off to vehicular traffic during game days would provide a lot of room for additional roaming tailgating, like what happens on campus at USC. Tailgating doesn't have to occur at your car or truck. It can be somewhere else, alongside other tailgaters, so long as it's permitted. AEG's comparison to the French Quarter was, in my opinion, speaking directly to the issue of a pedestrian street where outdoor drinking - and open containers - could be permitted on certain days, like game days. I don't think they are naive enough to think that the true essence of the French Quarter could be recreated using modern architecture - or at least the architecture they seem to gravitate towards.

They are just looking to create - and plant the seeds for - a special district that will allow outdoor drinking on game days. Just be ready for (a rather reasonable) argument against having taxpayers fund the policing of this to surface. There will certainly be a lot of debate over the coming months around this, but conceptually I think the plan is a smart one, and addresses some of the NFL's concerns.

Whether or not AEG can pull it off is another thing. But if they're anything, they are deep-pocketed, very politically savvy, and persistent as hell. So if anyone has a shot at doing it, it's them.

Thanks for the post; this sounds very credible.

Claiming that tailgating is not part of the football scene or that it's just as much fun to be crammed into an overpriced bar with people you don't know is going into denial. AEG is smart enough to try to address this.

[colemonkee]

^ Add to that the plaza outside the convention center, and I think you have enough of a festival atmosphere around the stadium to allay the NFL's concerns. Without it, though, I think AEG has an uphill battle.

[pesto]

http://brighamyen.com/2012/04/18/sassony...ted-for-4th-and-broadway-in-downtown-la/[/QUOTE]

A two story building at 4th and Bway has to be an easy rejection for the city. We'll see now whether the city fathers are so desperate for any development that "Van Nuys" development works for them.

The concept itself is fine. Get it to 4 stories and vastly improve the architecture and we can start talking. A little residential wouldn't hurt either.

Unfortunately, I'm afraid to ask what the target renters are.

[ChelseaFC]

The pregame pub atmosphere is very popular in England and Germany for soccer matches, and is essentially the European version of tailgating. When I was in Europe, I had a great time hanging out in outdoor plazas and restaurants before matches. It's a very communal environment and a much richer experience than the parking lot tailgates I've been to in the US. It would be great if Los Angeles adopted this tradition. Avenue of Angels seems to be right on track with this.

[OneMetropolis]

Originally Posted by Illithid Dude

Oh, look, more renderings. This are of the new Convention Center/Farmers Field thing.













All from the Farmers Field Facebook Page.

Wow!! like the High-Tech architecture look to it.

[Illithid Dude]

New Wilshire Grand Could Be Tallest Tower West of Chicago

Curbed LA says that it will rise to 80 stories. Also, the above is their headline. Not a bad headline, eh?

[Bootstrap Bill]

Originally Posted by Illithid Dude

Curbed LA says that it will rise to 80 stories. Also, the above is their headline. Not a bad headline, eh?

Why stop at 80 stories? Another 31 and it will beat the floor count of any building in the US.

[OneMetropolis]

LA is on a role this year. hopefully everything can actually get built.