Quote:
Originally Posted by Reeder113
I completely disagree. I've worked in the Ballpark neighborhood for the past five years and it's a complete disaster. I'm always looking over my shoulder while walking to the TRAX station. Drug deals everywhere. The homeless burning down homes (The Mayor had to step in on that one). And while there have been a few projects to try to help clean that area up, it really doesn't feel any different.
Had I owned the Bees I would have moved them out of that area a long time ago. People don't want to be in that neighborhood because it doesn't feel safe. Moving it to Daybreak will appeal to many more people who would have had reservations attending the current ballpark.
And to top it off, Daybreak has a TRAX station as well.
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In the end it will probably be a better experience as they'll build out the stadium with surrounding development from the get-go, not like the current stadium which was built in an era when that additional development of restaurants and other entertainment options was just not at the forefront. If you look at the Arizona Cardinals stadium that was built way out in the burbs and surrounded by nothing, it took many years to surround it with some entertainment, now there's a whole district with restaurants, Top Golf, another indoor arena which was built around the same time, etc. So it sounds like the new Bees stadium will be built with all that in mind to begin with, which should increase the desire for fans to go. I've been to Smith's a half dozen times and it's a fun experience but there is nothing to do outside of the game; you just get back in your car and go somewhere else for dinner or drinks.
Agree that it will lose a lot of fans, especially north of Salt Lake, who won't want to double their drive time to get to a game, but it will certainly add fans at the south end of the valley who didn't want to make the drive before. Overall it's probably going to be a wash; a better gameday experience for fans to come early or stay late to spend money, but less convenient to get to for most.
While there are currently no MLB teams that share the same city as their AAA affiliate (although Vegas may soon be the first), not sure if this will have any effect on the chances of SLC getting a team eventually. It could be a bellwether for MLB to look at the SLC market and see how it responds when this new stadium opens, but SLC is no where near the top of the list for a team anyway so we're still a LONNNNNNNNG way off from even being considered a viable option for MLB expansion or relocation.