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1. The links work well in Google Chrome.
2. While not perfect, the hyperlapse is pretty good.
3. Once loaded you can move around the crosshair and look in any direction.
4. Don't cross compare stadiums. It's AL vs AL and NL vs NL
5. Finally, we're on the honor system here, so please only pick 4 stadiums
This is not a thread about baseball teams. This is a thread about the buildings that house the teams and where those stadiums are located. This is, after all, an Urban Planning forum.
Which stadiums (and their locations) are the most appealing to you? Which stadiums would you like to go watch a game? Which stadiums are in an area that is appealing to you? Which stadium areas would you like to just hang out, people watch, take a walk, etc.? Which stadiums would benefit from being relocated to a different area?
This poll will be open through the regular season, after that there will be a "playoff" and eventually a "World Series" to determine the "best" stadium location.
San Diego has a pretty great stadium location, right next to a LRT line and the Gaslamp Quarter and very close to the harbor. I was in the area last month just hanging out and there was a game going on, lots of people that were obviously going to a ball game walking around the Gaslamp Quarter.
San Francisco has a great location too and AT&T Park is pretty lauded as an urban stadium. Probably the best NL stadium
Dodger Stadium is in an amazing natural location and is one of the most iconic stadiums. However it is not a park you can walk to as it is at the top of a hill within Elysian Park. One bonus is that it is surrounded by a huge park so there is plenty of space for tailgating. Taking transit to the stadium is not difficult and there is a shuttle from Union Station. I think it is every transit-loving Angeleno's dream that eventually a Gold Line connector is built from the Chinatown Station. Driving to and from the stadium is a PITA because there are only two entrances / exits to and from the park - it is part of the reason Angelenos have a reputation for leaving early and arriving late to the game. Also they seriously blew it by building the stadium so the seating faces away from DTLA (of course when it was built DTLA was not much to look at and skyline-less).
...Dodger Stadium is in an amazing natural location and is one of the most iconic stadiums. However it is not a park you can walk to as it is at the top of a hill within Elysian Park. One bonus is that it is surrounded by a huge park so there is plenty of space for tailgating. Taking transit to the stadium is not difficult and there is a shuttle from Union Station. I think it is every transit-loving Angeleno's dream that eventually a Gold Line connector is built from the Chinatown Station. Driving to and from the stadium is a PITA because there are only two entrances / exits to and from the park - it is part of the reason Angelenos have a reputation for leaving early and arriving late to the game. Also they seriously blew it by building the stadium so the seating faces away from DTLA (of course when it was built DTLA was not much to look at and skyline-less).
I was blown away. Absolutely astounded when I first looked at Dodger Stadium on Google maps. Dodger Stadium - Google Maps
It looks like you need to bring a gallon of water per person and at least two meals to park in the outer reaches of that parking lot and then walk to the stadium.
For comparison, this is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the largest sporting venue in the WORLD, seating over 250,000 people in the stands alone, not to mention all the people that can sit/stand in the infield. The track is 2.5 miles around with 4 golf holes inside the speedway: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, West 16th Street, Indianapolis, IN - Google Maps
Is land value so low in Los Angeles that they can build a parking lot larger than Disney's ENTIRE Hollywood Studios are/parking?: Disney World - Google Maps
I was blown away. Absolutely astounded when I first looked at Dodger Stadium on Google maps. Dodger Stadium - Google Maps
It looks like you need to bring a gallon of water per person and at least two meals to park in the outer reaches of that parking lot and then walk to the stadium.
For comparison, this is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the largest sporting venue in the WORLD, seating over 250,000 people in the stands alone, not to mention all the people that can sit/stand in the infield. The track is 2.5 miles around with 4 golf holes inside the speedway: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, West 16th Street, Indianapolis, IN - Google Maps
Is land value so low in Los Angeles that they can build a parking lot larger than Disney's ENTIRE Hollywood Studios are/parking?: Disney World - Google Maps
Um, no. In fact those parking lots are a huge cash-cow for the former owner of the Dodgers, Frank McCourt.
I believe there are plans to redevelop the lots, they just have to wrest ownership from McCourt. Also there are rumors that the NFL wants to have a Los Angeles team play in Elysian Park (moving the Dodgers to the Farmer's Field site in South Park).
Um, no. In fact those parking lots are a huge cash-cow for the former owner of the Dodgers, Frank McCourt.
I believe there are plans to redevelop the lots, they just have to wrest ownership from McCourt. Also there are rumors that the NFL wants to have a Los Angeles team play in Elysian Park (moving the Dodgers to the Farmer's Field site in South Park).
I'm glad they're a cash cow for the former owner... but how does that make it a good stadium for Urban Planning?
Or better yet, how does it benefit Los Angeles, The City by eating up dozens of acres of land?
EDIT: I'm thinking LA is going to lose horribly in this poll. Looking at the space that stadium occupies, how it is used, and how large Los Angeles is, why do people take the stance that, "Nuh-uh! LA is sooooooo hella walkable" when people point out the city was designed for cars?
I'm glad they're a cash cow for the former owner... but how does that make it a good stadium for Urban Planning?
It doesn't... I'm not defending them (I hate them), just pointing out that they make financial sense for the owner and it has nothing to do with land value.
Quote:
Originally Posted by A2DAC1985
Or better yet, how does it benefit Los Angeles, The City by eating up dozens of acres of land?
Well it is a pretty unique setting for a baseball stadium.
Quote:
Originally Posted by A2DAC1985
EDIT: I'm thinking LA is going to lose horribly in this poll. Looking at the space that stadium occupies, how it is used, and how large Los Angeles is, why do people take the stance that, "Nuh-uh! LA is sooooooo hella walkable" when people point out the city was designed for cars?
Don't see what a decades-old stadium facility has to do with how walkable the rest of the city is.
Otherwise, I agree that Dodger Stadium is not a good example of a stadium that was planned from an urban planning perspective. It's still a great place to catch a game.
I was blown away. Absolutely astounded when I first looked at Dodger Stadium on Google maps. Dodger Stadium - Google Maps
It looks like you need to bring a gallon of water per person and at least two meals to park in the outer reaches of that parking lot and then walk to the stadium.
For comparison, this is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the largest sporting venue in the WORLD, seating over 250,000 people in the stands alone, not to mention all the people that can sit/stand in the infield. The track is 2.5 miles around with 4 golf holes inside the speedway: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, West 16th Street, Indianapolis, IN - Google Maps
Is land value so low in Los Angeles that they can build a parking lot larger than Disney's ENTIRE Hollywood Studios are/parking?: Disney World - Google Maps
Expand your Google maps out and you'll see the Coke lot to the northwest of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, noted as Lot 1C on here. That's the main parking area for the speedway that isn't the infield. It's grass, not concrete, but it's probably bigger than the parking lots at Dodger Stadium, and further away. Sure, the speedway holds a lot more people than Dodger Stadium, but that's why Indy implements shuttles from various places in the city to the speedway for the 500 and for the Brickyard.
Baseball stadiums are awesome. It is the only sport where the field is not exactly the same. This lends a little creativity and and lot of quirkiness to the stadiums.
For now, I have to pick three NL West stadiums (Giants, Padres, Rockies) and Pittsburgh as the best.
AT&T Park is right on the water in one of the most beautiful cities in the US. It has a nice old-time feel to it, but it could use more entertainment in the area though.
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