How Pro Sports Saved A City's Downtown

[emu steve]

As everyone probably knows, I love sports, college and pro.

This Friday the Mid-American Conference is holding their FB championship game with nationally ranked Western MI needing to win to go to a New Year's bowl game.

They are expecting a record crowd. Ford Field was originally going to sell only lower level seating but are now selling tickets in the 300 level. Lower level general admission seats are sold out per Ford Field [[assume those are both end zones).

This is great for the MAC [[which has 3 Michigan schools) and good for Detroit. Again, any event which draws say 40K+ fans many from outside the metro area is good for Detroit.

Anyone working at Ford Field in security and tickets, food, ushering, parking lots, etc. just earned some more $ for their Christmas shopping. I assume Ford Field will treat this game nearly like a Lions game [[except less beer sales. Lol.)

[emu steve]

According to a MAC sports board, a radio show in Lansing indicated that over 42K tickets have already been sold for Friday's game.

Won't be as crazy as the Thanksgiving game but it will be crazy. A Cotton Bowl bid is at stake...

[Atticus]

The MAC championship is a great annual event for the city, and while I would guess most of the fans will be WMU supporters who drive in for the game, maybe get dinner, and leave afterward, that is still more $$ being spent downtown than otherwise would be.

[emu steve]

The MAC championship is a great annual event for the city, and while I would guess most of the fans will be WMU supporters who drive in for the game, maybe get dinner, and leave afterward, that is still more $$ being spent downtown than otherwise would be.

http://www.freep.com/story/sports/co...ield/94766348/

[Bham1982]

Damn, if sports arenas "saved" downtown Detroit, then I don't think most cities would want "saving".

Poor NYC, Paris, London, Tokyo, Hong Kong and the like. If only they had replaced urbanity with downtown arenas and parking garages, they would have the thriving urban glory of arena-packed downtowns like in Indianapolis, Cleveland and Detroit, all with 3+ downtown arenas, all will every team playing downtown.

Back to reality, if I drove down to Ford Field/Comerica Park right now, it would be completely dead, without a pedestrian in sight. Instead of urban vitality there's nothing but blank concrete walls, parking lots, and destroyed streetscapes. Same thing will be true with Pizza Pizza Field or whatever; will be absolutely dead until right before/after an event.

Thriving cities need small blocks [[no superblock arena/convention center garbage), street level retail, high density, mixed uses, limited parking, and 24-7 uses. You don't build vitality by planning around suburbanites rushing from their cars to the Justin Bieber concert.

[K-slice]

Now if we could just get a soccer stadium... And maybe in a few years we can knock down the UA and Michigan Building [[eyesores) and the pistons can build their own stadium... And you know what really draws people in and improves the image of an area? Theme parks! We can demolish all of Greektown [[besides the casino of course) and build Greek World!

[Bham1982]

Now if we could just get a soccer stadium... And maybe in a few years we can knock down the UA and Michigan Building [[eyesores) and the pistons can build their own stadium... And you know what really draws people in and improves the image of an area? Theme parks! We can demolish all of Greektown [[besides the casino of course) and build Greek World!

Don't give people any ideas. I would wager most Metro Detroiters would happily choose another subsidized downtown stadium/parking colossus to Greektown or the UA bldg.

They don't even mind paying for it; welfare is fine if it goes to billionaires, rather than the undeserving poor.

[56packman]

I'm just a crusty old Detroit area resident, but I think this whole "sports" thing worked better the way the stadiums used to be, which is to say NOT all clustered around downtown. The area around Olympia was sufficiently outside downtown that a large event there didn't shut down all of the streets in the CBD for those not attending said event. Same with Tiger Stadium at Michigan and Trumball--away enough from downtown to have its own parking and eating ecosystem. I recall trying to get to work at the Fox during a Lions game [[which I do not follow, or know anything about) and being unable to navigate my way into the parking garage because "you can't turn here right now" .
I know my way around, had to go clear up by Masonic and come in along Park ave.--complete pain in the ass. It's all in a little clump now, like it or not. As others have said, the sports venues aren't used enough to make a difference, it's all those office buildings that could, and have made the difference. Too bad the Lafayette bldg. couldn't hang on for a few more years, it would be restored and full now, but hey--Adamo was going to have a slow month, so..................it's gone.