Turner Field's Akward Location (Atlanta, Boston: layoffs, to buy, income)

[Gulch]

Originally Posted by Ant131531

You gotta love the interstates...it's essentially a river of Asphalt. We wouldn't even be complaining about the stadium's location if we didn't have huge highways dividing the city left and right. Why couldn't we do like Tokyo did and have highways running above the city?

Still looks like crap. Boston had the right idea with the Big Dig (minus that whole massive cost overrun/corrupt contractor thing).

[cwkimbro]

Originally Posted by MattCW

Well, for one, it puts the Braves on top of MARTA Heavy Rail. Second, the Baseball [home] season lasts a quarter of the year, spread over half a year. The football [home] season lasts about one sixth of a year spread across a third of a year. The remainder with some overlap consists of the basketball season. With the latter only having activities from around October to April, why would any sports-oriented business setup shop near one of Atlanta's two sports sites when business will be nonexistent for half the year? Answer: they wouldn't. Bringing the Braves to the Falcons and Hawks would create an environment for numerous sports-related businesses, and other businesses that can profit off of gameday crowds, which in turn can generate substantial tax revenue. Providing a central focus also creates a better overall environment, that will draw more people to downtown.

I'll never give up Turner Field for a variety of reasons already mentioned, this this statement above is the single reason the baseball stadium should never be built close to the downtown core -if- it is ever rebuilt.

Atlanta has a huge convention industry on top of the office market downtown. Having to deal with with the added people from overlapping events would be a huge mess and it would deter conventions and further office growth in the future.

Things already get pretty bad when there are overlapping events and many civic leaders/planners already try to curb the amount of overlapping events.

The other issue I constantly see with your arguments. MARTA is a great thing... I'm pro-MARTA, but it's presence doesn't magically make everything better. Just like the roads it too gets overly congested and makes it hard to hold multiple events and can deter other types of growth when congested.

It also doesn't make everyone going to see the ball game magically take MARTA. Just like with football, conventions, and most other things there will always be alot of cars going to the games. MARTA doesn't magically make road congestion a non-issue.

[CAWjr]

Originally Posted by Newsboy

There are people alive who don't know Turner Field was Olympic Stadium? Good grief ... how depressing. Do people ever GOOGLE or WIKI search things before they post on C-D?!

"Atlanta hosted the Olympics? When? I didn't know about it ..."

This is my reaction every time someone makes a comment about "Why did they build Turner Field there?!"

[CAWjr]

Originally Posted by Gulch

And the only reason it was put in AFCS' old south parking lot was a matter of convenience and the cheap way out, that while fiscally responsible, didn't really take the long term health of Summerhill/Peoplestown into account.

Look at the most recent London Olympics & the proximity of their Olympic stadium to central London. It doesn't always make sense to just tear up your downtown area to build a stadium when a location outside of downtown will work just as well.

I also am floored that people are bitching about 1.5 miles. Yeah, it's not central to downtown, but it's not like Turner Field is down by Atlanta Motor Speedway.

[Gulch]

Originally Posted by CAWjr

Look at the most recent London Olympics & the proximity of their Olympic stadium to central London. It doesn't always make sense to just tear up your downtown area to build a stadium when a location outside of downtown will work just as well.

I also am floored that people are bitching about 1.5 miles. Yeah, it's not central to downtown, but it's not like Turner Field is down by Atlanta Motor Speedway.

The problem isn't the distance to downtown, but the Ted's lack of a transit connection, and instead of fixing that problem during the site selection for Centennial Olympic Stadium, we went ahead and placed the new facility farther from a MARTA station.

[JonTheGreat]

I've said this in other threads...it would have been ideal if they had built the Braves a new stadium where they eventually built the Georgia Dome and converted the Olympic Stadium into a new Falcons stadium. But that's just hindsight talking.

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by Ant131531

You gotta love the interstates...it's essentially a river of Asphalt. We wouldn't even be complaining about the stadium's location if we didn't have huge highways dividing the city left and right. Why couldn't we do like Tokyo did and have highways running above the city?

Well, from what I understand, the interstates were never to actually run through the city in the first place, but rather around it.

We can't do like Tokyo because this is the U.S. and Tokyo is in Japan. Two different sets of transportation policies at work.

[westau]

Originally Posted by JonTheGreat

I've said this in other threads...it would have been ideal if they had built the Braves a new stadium where they eventually built the Georgia Dome and converted the Olympic Stadium into a new Falcons stadium. But that's just hindsight talking.

That wouldn't have been any better. 80,000 people having to drive to games instead of 40,000 people. Yes it is for less events but that also ignores all the other events at the Dome now that might not happen if it was away from transit and in a domed stadium.

[Flint1908]

Originally Posted by Newsboy

There are people alive who don't know Turner Field was Olympic Stadium? Good grief ... how depressing. Do people ever GOOGLE or WIKI search things before they post on C-D?!

"Atlanta hosted the Olympics? When? I didn't know about it ..."

Yes, I'm well aware Turner Field was Olympic Stadium.

My argument is why wasn't it built closer to the central hub? I am NOT advocating tearing down TF! The city is already struggling enough financially and does not need another Falcon's Stadium debacle on its plate. Hindsight's 20/20.

In other cities I've visited it's easy to walk out of the stadium gate, cross the street and be in a pedestrian friendly bar/shopping district. The simpler solution here, as others have said, would be to clean up the surrounding neighborhoods and develop Summerhill, not start from scratch.

[Gulch]

Originally Posted by Flint1908

Yes, I'm well aware Turner Field was Olympic Stadium.

My argument is why wasn't it built closer to the central hub? I am NOT advocating tearing down TF! The city is already struggling enough financially and does not need another Falcon's Stadium debacle on its plate. Hindsight's 20/20.

In other cities I've visited it's easy to walk out of the stadium gate, cross the street and be in a pedestrian friendly bar/shopping district. The simpler solution here, as others have said, would be to clean up the surrounding neighborhoods and develop Summerhill, not start from scratch.

To figure out why COS/The Ted wasn't built closer to Downtown and MARTA, you have to go back to 1990/91. ACOG and the city/state were under a time crunch and needed a large chunk of land for a stadium cheaply and quickly that was within the "Olympic Ring" (3 mile radius from Peachtree/International). The only place in their view that fit the criteria was the south parking lot of Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, and the only real opposition to that was Summerhill/Peoplestown.

Personally, I think the stadium should've been built closer to a MARTA station either at Grady Homes (King Memorial station) or the GWCC/Dome/Gulch area (Vine City/Omni stations). But, that ship has long sailed and as been noted by many posters, the best option now would be to develop the Ted's parking lots and maybe build a LRT/streetcar line down Capitol Avenue.