Sports facilities and the reproduction of retail space often doesn't work for the locals

Chicago.  In Its Hardly Sportin': Stadiums, Neighborhoods and the New Chicago the authors study the changes in Wrigleyville, the commercial district abutting the Chicago Cubs Wrigley Stadium, after the introduction of night baseball.  

Basically, over time the retail district shifted from serving the needs of local residents and the sale of convenience goods, to a nighttime entertainment district focus, positioned around the Cubs.

That's a loss for residents.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports in "City-owned vacant lots near United Center could become housing, retail," that the City of Chicago is seeking developers for sites it owns around United Center, an arena for professional basketball and hockey, in advance of the arena being rebuilt.

If the arena were such a good anchor, why aren't those sites already developed?

Note that the rebuilding plans are to create more than just a new arena, but more of a neighborhood.  From the article:

The arena’s owners have said it’s the largest-ever private investment on the West Side. It’s expected to take 15 years, but once complete, it will have a music hall, thousands of residential units and open green space that would replace a sea of parking lots around the center.

Top: rendering from 1901 Project, a new United Center district.  

Bottom: Vacant lots at 2055-59 W. Madison Street, photo: Zubaer Khan, Chicago Sun-Times. 

“This is the big news in the area here, and we think it will be something that will hopefully drive a lot of development interest in the area, particularly in areas where there’s a lot of lots that have been sitting vacant and undeveloped for a long time,” Hacker said.

Also see "United Center's first phase of its $7B redevelopment sails through Zoning Committee" and "First phase of United Center's $7B redevelopment approved by Plan Commission."  From the second article:

The vision for the project is an integrated neighborhood, Savarise said, not a gated entertainment district. The 1901 Project’s public fixtures — including acres of green space, public parks, athletic courts, a public plaza and more — will be open year-round. Events will also be held throughout the year.

United Center today, surrounded by parking lots and empty lots. 

Owners of the United Center hope to break ground this summer on Phase One, which will be anchored by a 6,000-seat music hall. It will have 25 total acres of public green space. Phase One will include a public plaza, boutique hotel and parking deck with a rooftop park, plus the music hall.

Rendering of the 1901 Project looking east toward downtown Chicago.

While there is no question the redevelopment will be a lot better than the current single use arena, currently surrounded by parking lots, and provide amenities beyond stores and restaurants, as Washington DC demonstrates (below) many thousands of new units of residential housing may still not be enough to support thriving retail.

St. Paul, Minnesota.  The construction of the Allianz stadium for the Minnesota United soccer team in the Midway neighborhood was facilitated by the acquisition and demolition of a shopping center, at the expense of retail anchors serving local residents ("Minnesota United's Allianz Field opens, set for first match next month," Minneapolis Star-Tribune).  It's also served by the area light rail system.   

Today, six years after the stadium opened, despite the presence of a light rail station, there isn't new retail ("After years of waiting, St. Paul residents and United fans cheer small signs of progress for development by Allianz Field," MST) and stores continue to close ("Why Cub Foods closure in Midway is such a big blow to the community," "A booming big box retail market leaves St. Paul’s Midway behind," MST).  From the first article:

Fans and residents are eager to see development happen on the bleak blocks of vacant land that surround the St. Paul stadium, something to make the windswept lot more inviting.  

But the fans want amenities focused on them:

Hopes for development among the Minnesota United fans lining up that Saturday centered on more places to be together with other Loons supporters. “Restaurants would be a good thing,” said Justin Baesler of Apple Valley. Just opening the bar in the stadium for away games would be nice, he said, to have that bigger space available to be in community with other soccer fans.

“Right now, I’d like a coffee shop,” or somewhere else to grab a light bite outside the gates, said Courtney Keirnat of St. Paul. Others said they would be happy with a more inviting outdoor area.

“It would be great to have a nice plaza where people can tailgate,” said Curt Keitzer of St. Paul. “If they made the lawn space nicer, people could hang out and play soccer,” added Katie Ashpole of Minneapolis.

If such businesses open, other than a coffee shop, how does that make grocery shopping easier?  From the second article:

Long before a light rail line cut through the city’s Midway area, there was foot traffic attached to local businesses that no longer exists. The August closing of the Midway Cub Foods has only punctuated the dramatic overhaul of the area in recent years.

“I mean, gentrification is in progress for sure,” Wilson said. He adds that he thinks it’s sad how the routines of people with limited resources for transportation will be disrupted as they figure out how to get to a different grocery store. Before, they were used to taking the bus or train and stopping at Cub.

Washington Navy Yard district, with the baseball stadium to the left.

Washington, DC.  The Washington Nationals baseball stadium has been a "priming device" for the redevelopment of the Southeast Riverfront section of the city.  

Much housing and some office buildings have been constructed.  But retail businesses like bookstores, clothing, and hardware stores haven't had much success, as baseball fans don't seem to be interested in other than food and drink, except for team merchandise.  And the residential segment of the neighborhood isn't large enough to support retail on its own.  

The Washington Mystics' arena, in the distance on the right, as seen from Congress Heights on Monday. (Jared Soares/For The Washington Post)

Similarly, the practice facility for the Wizards basketball team and home to the Washington Mystics WNBA team, located across the Anacostia River in Congress Heights, hasn't brought any ancillary development to the area.  

FWIW, I never thought it would ("Sport team practice facilities and public subsidy (a practice facility for the Washington Wizards").  From the Washington Post article "Where there’s no sign of the National Guard in D.C.": 

What Jenkins doesn’t see is any sign of President Donald Trump’s federal policing surge. He does see police officers before and after Mystics games: “They’re on every corner till the Caucasians go home, and then they’re gone,” said Jenkins, who is Black. He also sees city police swarm the area after a shooting. “Then they zoom out of here as fast as they came in,” he said.

Companion retail/sports districts.  The deal made by the owner of the Salt Lake professional basketball and hockey teams, promulgated by the state with limited input by the city, calls for the development of a "sports-entertainment" district ("Salt Lake City Council gives nod to Jazz owner Ryan Smith’s taxpayer-backed sports district," Salt Lake Tribune).  By definition such districts serve fans way more than residents, especially if a majority of the paying fans aren't city residents.  

(Will this be an issue too,  with the development of an entertainment district around the Salt Lake Bees minor league baseball stadium?  The team decamped from the city to the distant suburbs?  See "Bees set to make baseball an anchor of ‘Downtown Daybreak’," Building Salt Lake).

A former mayor of Dallas believes the realization of such districts is a major benefit from a team ("Good quote on arenas and stadiums as "performing arts centers" attractions for cities").

Ballpark Village, St. Louis.

I do think the companion team districts like Ballpark Village in St. Louis and the Battery District in Suburban Atlanta as part of the Atlanta Braves stadium complex are better uses than a single use sports facility surrounded by parking lots.  

In Detroit, the District Detroit development around the basketball and hockey arena is taking much longer to generate benefits than these other projects ("Detroiters have little choice in Ilitch project ― and it feels like deja vu," Detroit Free Press).  Maybe baseball related projects are the most likely to succeed because there are 82 game events?  (OTOH, a basketball-hockey arena has the same number of events.)  From the article:

The new arena, Olympia assured Detroiters, would anchor a walkable 50-block development dubbed "The District Detroit," launching five new neighborhoods complete with housing, retail, office space, parking, and, of course, jobs ― provided taxpayers proffered $324 million in tax incentives, guaranteeing nearly half the cost of the $863 million project.

The city and state complied, and Olympia built Little Caesars Arena. We can't deny the positive impact the arena has had. It's home to the Red Wings, and lured the Detroit Pistons back from The Palace of Auburn Hills in 2017. On game nights, or during the concerts and other events the arena hosts, crowds throng that stretch of Woodward.

But neighborhoods, housing and retail failed to materialize. Instead, the company built a new headquarters for its corporate operations, a Wayne State University business school named after late patriarch Mike Ilitch, and a sea of money-making parking lots for visitors to its stadium (joined years later by a few new retail spots and restaurants), a far cry from what had been promised. Nor did the company fulfill the requirement that Detroiters comprise a majority of the workforce for the project, ultimately paying $6 million in fines.

In contrast to Detroit, in 2023 the Battery District generated $59 million in revenues for the Braves ("Stadium entertainment districts — such as the one proposed in South Philly — are changing the game for fans around the country," Philadelphia Inquirer).   

Other teams, without a lot of land at their disposal, are starting to do ancillary projects aimed at maximizing both the fan experience and the revenue they make ("Proposed apartment building across from Pittsburgh Pirates baseball stadium with abutting Pirates-oriented public plaza," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette).

OTOH, I don't think it's right that the lead developer should always be the sports team ("Suburban stadium/arena interest a function of new, younger generations of ownership or a better real estate play?").  Other firms ought to be able to participate in such projects, rather than the team monopolizing the development and the profits.

Conclusion.  I need a companion piece to "Framework of characteristics that support successful community development in association with the development of professional sports facilities," which is about how to maximize community benefits from stadium and arena projects, much more focused on neighborhood benefits ("How do you make the ground floor of an arena strengthen the area around it, rather than diminish it? | Philadelphia 76ers").  Such benefits are addressed, but the retail mix question needs to be better addressed.   

A complementary revitalization plan should be a requirement for every sports facility project.  Having a revitalization plan simultaneous with the approvals for team facility is a necessity.  It must be direct about the difference between fan serving and resident serving facilities, and it needs to figure out how can retail be provided that serves the neighborhood, not just the team, with a plan for funding.