New Atlanta Falcons Stadium (Sandy Springs, Decatur: apartment, zoning, litigation)

[JoeTarheel]

Originally Posted by arjay57

Suppose a more affluent area was told by the powers that a massive, monolithic structure was going to be placed in their neighborhood and that it's really not intended to add to the neighborhood. It's going to be there for the purpose of well-heeled visitors watching sports, not to invigorate the area. Furthermore, while it might add something to the surroundings, that won't be immediate and it won't be the actual structure. They'll have to wait for the businesses that pop up around it if they expect local improvements.

Wonder how that would go over?

You have a real issue with where this stadium is being built...and it's right next to the old stadium! I don't really get it because it's exactly where I think it should go. They aren't tearing entire neighborhoods to build it.

It's sad to look back at highways plowing through low-income areas in cities all over the country. There is still resentment over the old Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium infringing on Pittsburgh and Mechanicsville. But this is nothing near the destruction that those and other public projects brought. It's almost like you want to make this more controversial than it really is. I don't understand it.

[ToucheGA]

Originally Posted by arjay57

What's the big deal about making a football stadium that way? It's an open air game, that has routinely been played for 100 years in climates far more severe than what we have here.

The game has been (and always will be) played in extreme environments. However, people are less likely to attend an event in an open air stadium when the weather is very warm or very cold outside. The option of closing the roof means more people are likely to buy tickets. During the NFL season, Atlanta's average temperatures can range from a high of 88 to to a low of 37 degrees (F), with a very real possibility of some games being played in temperatures that exceed 100 degrees, and some that are played in below-freezing weather. This is well beyond the comfort level for most spectators. Die hard fans are going to be there, even in freezing rain. However, the franchise wants to cater to many people, not just the ones who show their painted bare chests in below freezing weather.

[JoeTarheel]

Originally Posted by cqholt

I like the exterior, but it still doesn't blend in well with the street grid and surrounding neighborhood. Of course it backs up to railroads, but it is still surrounded by parking lots. There isn't a good example.
https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Unive...polis,+MN&z=17

That's exactly what I thought when I looked at the photos. The stadium in arjay's post is not integrated with any neighborhood or area - it stands completely out like a sore thumb. It's nice, but it's like an elephant sitting in the corner. One that comes to mind immediately is Wrigley Field in Chicago, but it's had 100 years to "blend well". I think time is what it takes.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by ToucheGA

Good point. Granted, these local businesses will be up and running by the time the new stadium is completed.

Sort of like they have with all our other stadiums?

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by JoeTarheel

It's sad to look back at highways plowing through low-income areas in cities all over the country.

Not to mention that massive highways went plowing right through the middle of Buckhead and Midtown as well.

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by JoeTarheel

You have a real issue with where this stadium is being built...and it's right next to the old stadium! I don't really get it because it's exactly where I think it should go. They aren't tearing entire neighborhoods to build it.

It's sad to look back at highways plowing through low-income areas in cities all over the country. There is still resentment over the old Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium infringing on Pittsburgh and Mechanicsville. But this is nothing near the destruction that those and other public projects brought. It's almost like you want to make this more controversial than it really is. I don't understand it.

Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium expedited the decay of those neighborhoods. Summerhill use to have a commercial district until the stadium and parking lots where built. I understand where arajay is coming from. It seems like poor, minority, urban neighborhoods bare the weight of having these sports palaces built in them, but share none of the revenue the stadiums create. You better believe if there was a proposal for this to be built in Buckhead or Sandy Springs the residents would have a hissy fit.

[JoeTarheel]

Originally Posted by arjay57

Not to mention that massive highways went plowing right through the middle of Buckhead and Midtown as well.

True...so I guess it does happen in more affluent areas too.

[JPD]

Originally Posted by arjay57

Well, I've said several times I'm not an expert on stadiums. But I do think I can tell the difference between a structure that's monolithic and intended to be exclusive of the surrounding community, and one which is designed to bring the community into the mix. You see this in college stadiums all over the place. It's also done with baseball stadiums. What's the big deal about making a football stadium that way? It's an open air game, that has routinely been played for 100 years in climates far more severe than what we have here.

I was hoping for photographs of actual stadiums, not fictional, idealized illustrations. But even in the illustrations you provided, what I see is a very Turner Field-esque environment - a massive stadium with a lof of surface parking, and no businesses or residences in the vicinity. I fail to see how these renderings are an example of what you want the Falcons stadium to be.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by JoeTarheel

True...so I guess it does happen in more affluent areas too.

It does happen, although the affluent neighborhoods had the resources to fight for many years. And in some cases they won.

[JoeTarheel]

Originally Posted by cqholt

Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium expedited the decay of those neighborhoods. I understand where arajay is coming from. It seems like poor, minority, urban neighborhoods bare the weight of having these sports palaces built in them, but share none of the revenue the stadiums create. You better believe if there was a proposal for this to be built in Buckhead or Sandy Springs the residents would have a hissy fit.

Those neighborhoods may have been declining, but from what I hear there was a great sense of place there and the people really fought to preserve - though it didn't happen. They were promised a great windfall from the stadium that also didn't happen. But yeah, it's usually easier to destroy a low-income area that's already on the slide.