Investment group looking at bringing minor league baseball to Town Madison development (Huntsville: apartment, how much)

[NoleFanHSV]

Originally Posted by RocketDawg

Chattanooga has more attractions than Nashville? I'd be surprised if that's the case, given all the country music stuff such as the Grand Ole Opry.

Chattanooga has more touristy type things than Huntsville, like the aquarium, and they're easier to get to on the Interstates, but I've never really considered it much of a destination. Maybe I'm wrong. But Huntsville and Chattanooga are almost exactly the same population, both in the city and county populations, so the expenditures being near the same isn't surprising. There probably aren't many tourists flying into either city, since we have extremely high fares and the Chattanooga airport isn't very busy (maybe because Atlanta is so close).

Sorry, Chattanooga has more attractions than Huntsville, for clarity.

[NoleFanHSV]

Originally Posted by rock90

Been enjoying this thread and the various perspectives. A few random thoughts:

Stop by Joe Davis sometime and walk around the empty lot. Watch the tumbleweeds roll by. Take in the huge expanse of the parking lot. That's how a good chunk of Town Madison (can we call it Towne Madison instead? ) will look almost all the time. Home baseball game or The Expanse.

Now if there were a cool downtown-like integrated shopping/eating experience that kept some life flowing around the stadium even when there's no game, it might be okay. Do you really expect the developer to have that kind of vision, or more importantly, to make that kind of investment? Pretty risky and now doesn't seem the time to be taking risks in retail, with the sector fading.

(Side note: If you wanted to have a new ballpark, MidCity is arguably a better location. They already have a sports theme going with Top Golf and the climbing gym, and they'll have assorted stores and eateries around these. But a ballpark would be less profitable than what's been sketched in for that development.)

(Side side note: Top Golf would have been a great attraction for Town Madison!)

Baseball's demographics may be good, bad, or indifferent, but it's hard to argue that it's a good fit for the younger "check out this cool YouTube video" generation. If something doesn't change every two minutes, a lot of that group gets bored. Baseball's done a good job with TV, and it's way more entertaining than when I used to tune in while growing up. But I went to one Stars game and even I lost interest pretty quickly, and I do have some attention span. Just an anecdote, so basically worthless information.

Also, the families I know are all *so busy* with activities. It's non-stop after school with sports, clubs, church, and other activities. They're lucky to squeeze in a dinner out while on the run. I don't know a lot of them with three-hour blocks of time to go to a few baseball games each season. You need a lot of these to support a local club. That'd be the target demographic, right?

Finally, the developers need to show in their business plan how they will succeed when the Huntsville Stars did not. What will they do so very differently? Sure, it'll be on I-565 but Joe Davis had Memorial Parkway and that wasn't enough by itself. Or will they just leave it to the weeds once the tyranny of the numbers has its way?

When we had the stars, I had friends who'd make a weekend out of going to watch them play the lookouts in Chattanooga. Catch a game, walk by the river, go to the aquarium....etc.

We need to find a way to leverage the river or Monte Sano IMHO.

[RocketDawg]

Originally Posted by NoleFanHSV

When we had the stars, I had friends who'd make a weekend out of going to watch them play the lookouts in Chattanooga. Catch a game, walk by the river, go to the aquarium....etc.

We need to find a way to leverage the river or Monte Sano IMHO.

Every once in a while you hear about doing something with Ditto Landing but it never materializes.

Wasn't there a large shopping center planned for far south Huntsville at one time? Named Green Hills or something similar?

[jasonhsv]

Originally Posted by RocketDawg

Every once in a while you hear about doing something with Ditto Landing but it never materializes.

Wasn't there a large shopping center planned for far south Huntsville at one time? Named Green Hills or something similar?

I remember hearing about plans for a new mall on far South Parkway in the late 90's. Near Green Cove Rd, so maybe that would have been the name.

When Parkway Place was built to replace Parkway City, I never heard any more about a Green Cove mall.

[BEL2HSV]

Originally Posted by rock90

Now if there were a cool downtown-like integrated shopping/eating experience that kept some life flowing around the stadium even when there's no game, it might be okay. Do you really expect the developer to have that kind of vision, or more importantly, to make that kind of investment? Pretty risky and now doesn't seem the time to be taking risks in retail, with the sector fading.

Baseball's demographics may be good, bad, or indifferent, but it's hard to argue that it's a good fit for the younger "check out this cool YouTube video" generation. If something doesn't change every two minutes, a lot of that group gets bored.

The development is being handled by Fuqua who just finished building a suburban baseball stadium surrounded by a downtown-like walkable development. I suspect he was brought in once a baseball stadium became an option to do the same here (on a much smaller scale I imagine). The stadium would do better downtown, but from what I have heard Huntsville is unwilling to pay for the stadium (as it should be).

side note...minor league baseball can be added to this list of things those dang millennials have killed.

[Renaldo78]

Originally Posted by NoleFanHSV

When we had the stars, I had friends who'd make a weekend out of going to watch them play the lookouts in Chattanooga. Catch a game, walk by the river, go to the aquarium....etc.

We need to find a way to leverage the river or Monte Sano IMHO.

Would love to see a chairlift type ride up to a lookout on Monte Sano for the sunsets and dinner, maybe have an alpine slide ride as one way down.

[AU HSV]

Originally Posted by Renaldo78

Would love to see a chairlift type ride up to a lookout on Monte Sano for the sunsets and dinner, maybe have an alpine slide ride as one way down.

that's really a cool idea, there already is a power pole path on the side.
Imagine what it was like when the train used to go up there.


from Trail Link
Boasting an intriguing history, the Old Railroad Bed Trail (a.k.a., Monte Sano Railroad Trail) follows one of the country's oldest, and shortest-lived, rail corridors. In the late 1800s, as yellow fever raged in Atlanta, a hotel was built atop 1,600-foot Monte Sano (which means "mountain of health" in Italian). Guests were drawn to the resort by the area's fresh springs, cool climates, and valley views. The rail line was built to ferry passengers from Huntsville, replacing the previous four-hour horse-and-carriage ride.

A construction crew of 500 men took just four months to complete the line, which included 8.5 miles of rail, five trestles and four small bridges. Earning a mere dollar for each 12-hour shift, these workers later staged Huntsville's first labor strike, demanding—without success—a 10-hour day. The line opened in August 1888, but by October a derailment, caused by brake failure, had frightened passengers away. Only freight cars plied the line until the trains stopped running in 1896.

Launched in 1990, the Old Railroad Bed Trail is among the country's first rail-to-trail conversions. Land Trust of North Alabama purchased the line and built the trail, and they continue to maintain it. As you stroll the narrow dirt and stone bed, you will pass cascading springs and the original stone bridge supports, built without mortar. Atop the peak, close your eyes and picture the Hotel Monte Sano, an elaborate, 223-room haven from turn-of-the-century health scares

[RocketDawg]

Originally Posted by jasonhsv

I remember hearing about plans for a new mall on far South Parkway in the late 90's. Near Green Cove Rd, so maybe that would have been the name.

When Parkway Place was built to replace Parkway City, I never heard any more about a Green Cove mall.

That's probably it. It was "Green" something.

[RocketDawg]

Originally Posted by BEL2HSV

The development is being handled by Fuqua who just finished building a suburban baseball stadium surrounded by a downtown-like walkable development. I suspect he was brought in once a baseball stadium became an option to do the same here (on a much smaller scale I imagine). The stadium would do better downtown, but from what I have heard Huntsville is unwilling to pay for the stadium (as it should be).

side note...minor league baseball can be added to this list of things those dang millennials have killed.

Are you talking about Braves stadium in Marietta? It would definitely have to be on a smaller scale since the Atlanta are is 10 times the size of the Huntsville/Decatur area.

[FCEddie]

What is there to do in downtown Huntsville? I pass thru downtown for work and other than the courthouse, it appears the place shuts down after dark. Even then, there isn't a whole lot of anything down there.

It seems that Research Park is our real center of action. Between that and the base, that's our sweet spot.