Quote:
Originally Posted by tdavis
Keep in mind that a mixed use stadium as you find in many cities now (Dallas Cowboys, OKC Cox Center, etc.) can be used for many other things other than football - i.e. concerts, fairs, festivals, additional sporting events). I hear people state that the stadium would only be full about 8 Sundays per year and that is just wrong.
And regarding parking, there are ways to be creative. The American Airlines Center in downtown Dallas (Mavericks, Stars) is surrounded by mixed use parking garages. The Minneapolis Target Center is also pretty much the same. You drive right off the highway exit into the garage. It's convenient, doesn't take up massive amounts of sprawling space, and can be used for general downtown parking throughout the year.
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To my understanding all the stadiums you have mentioned are not football stadiums. And yes, Petco Park does a fabulous job of creating no real dead zones due to their parking (keeping in mind that the tailgate lots are not planned to stay just parking lots), and in fact Petco opens up nicely to the city and and street (J street, K street, Park blvd). If the city does happen to move forward with the downtown football stadium, I hope that its thoroughly integrated within the context (unlike the Q) allowing it to be woven in with day to day activities of the street and neighborhood.
Another couple concerns I have is the article mentioning that they want to move forward quickly with this. I know the need for a new complex is large, but with this scale of a project and considering the impact of the neighborhood I hope they think thoroughly on this and take time to give us an awesome facility (not only awesome to attend a game/concert/ect) but awesome to live nearby and to own a business. That takes a long time to make right.
My other concern is the size of the stadium. 8 downtown blocks (san diego blocks are tiny) is not a lot of room for a world class multi-sports arena. Them considering this site says to me that the city and club is being for shortsighted on their plans for a new complex. It seems as if all they want is a football stadium and that it would be great to hold other events like concert/fairs/expos/ect in there if they can. I would like to see bigger plans for SD. I would love to see a huge multi-use sports complex built to handle summer olympics, FIFA, SuperBowls, and other world wide sporting contests. I know that that's one of the main reasons SD/TJ lost their bid for 2016 (along with the airport problem).
I guess I just can't shake the idea of having an amazing stadium built on the bay with views out to the bay (and in from the bay).