Retail founders near Fed Ex Stadium

according to this article, "For Now, Land Near Stadium Used for Parking" from the Pringe George's County Extra section of the Post. Granted that football stadia are used relatively infrequently, but it does communicate about the "economic development power(?)" of sports-driven development.

Retail shops have foundered near Fed-Ex Field. Landover Mall closed in 2002. (1999 Photo By Marie Poirier Marzi For The Washington Post)

Interestingly enough, the redevelopment of the Capital Center/US Air Arena into a retail-tainment district seems to have come with some problems as well. See "Largo Mall Slaying Adds to Residents' Fears: 50 Cent Movie Also Troubles Some."

Although I would attribute this to the "if you build it they will come" philosophy. If you build it and the underlying conditions are still reflective of distressed demographics, it is difficult to change the overall conditions of the area merely by constructing new buildings.

Some residents petitioned the mall's management to stop showing the movie "Get Rich or Die Tryin'." (By Bill O'leary -- The Washington Post)