Quote: @"StickyBun" said:
Yeah, everyone wants to do what the Wilfs and other recent new stadiums have done: a retail/hotel/commercial area surrounding the stadium. Makes sense as you want that investment in the land to have returns year round. Smart for Washington to dome it.
It's of mutual benefit too. Vikings built the metrodome in a part of downtown nobody went to. The Twins and Vikings weren't there enough to draw people in. No people, no business. No business, no people. So when it was decided US Bank would go in the very same place, people were skeptical. The Wilfs were smart to build the stadium with a plan for the surrounding area.
Sometimes it can happen organically. Coors Field in Denver almost single handedly turned a warehouse district into the hottest area of Denver. One of the things I love the most about Denver is that all of its event facilities are downtown, within walking distance. Mile High, Pepsi Center, Coors Field, the DCPA...hell even their amusement park is downtown. Love that Minneapolis is following a similar strategy.
I've always felt that if you build a strong downtown, the suburbs prosper. If you build a strong suburb...it's sort of disconnected from the rest.