tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20743459.post4762859856108029024..comments2024-03-18T05:56:29.009-04:00Comments on Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Report: Private investment, public costs: Fenway Park, Atlantic Yards, and moreNorman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20743459.post-61440249281402665182007-12-31T15:15:00.000-05:002007-12-31T15:15:00.000-05:00Norman,Interesting to hear about this panel!Anothe...Norman,<BR/><BR/>Interesting to hear about this panel!<BR/><BR/>Another angle to consider when discussing urban stadiums and arenas (and the supposed community economic benefits "justifying" public aid) is that today's stadiums and arenas appear to be expressly designed to be economically self-contained (e.g., food service, souvenir sales, etc.) -- and, in fact, this capturing of a stadium's / arena's positive economic externalities by its owner seems to be a large part of the reason for building such new stadiums and arenas in the first place (e.g., luxury boxes, etc.).<BR/><BR/>So it's not like the old days, when patrons, rich or poor, going to the old (bare bones) Madison Square Garden (occupying a conventional city block) would patronize neighborhood restaurants and shops (e.g., "Jack Dempsey's" restaurant across the street, for the well-heeled; a local pub, for the less affluent; a local gym for would-be athletes and their associates, etc.).<BR/><BR/>And the internalizing of such economic externalities not only deprives surrounding businesses from benefiting as much as they might from an arena, but it also seems to contribute to the inflated size and footprint of such stadiums and arenas -- making them more disruptive to the urban fabric (e.g. "requiring" them to seek larger sites, "requiring" more blank walls, and sometimes even "requiring" the demapping of city streets, etc.).<BR/><BR/>Although I haven't read Phillip Bess's book, "City Baseball Magic: Plain Talk and Uncommon Sense About Cities and Baseball Parks," judging from other things of his that I've read, he seems to be making this latter point.<BR/><BR/>-- Benjamin HemricBenjamin Hemrichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02774747428869052111noreply@blogger.com