The consensus among the people I read and listen to is that a stadium on the other side of the river in Illinois might be a good idea. "Put it on the other side of the river, restore the street grid downtown, and make the new stadium open air! Yeah, that would be awesome!" That's what I've heard. Sadly, that sounds a lot like Nashville. You know, those guys we beat back in Super Bowl XXXIV.
Nashville's LP Field has two obvious flaws that I do not want to see in East St. Louis. The first and most obvious is the vast sea of parking around it. As we all know, surface parking lots made of impervious concrete create a lot of runoff and complicate drainage. Not only are they hot and desolate, but they promote flooding.
The second major flaw should be obvious to anyone from St. Louis. Open stadia should be oriented to take advantage of landmarks to boost civic pride, increase tourism, and add to the festive atmosphere.
They shouldn't be designed to obstruct and hide the downtown skyline.
Haha, GO TITANS! Really, look at the seating plan,
The highest part of the stadium is aimed at downtown Nashville and the lowest points are oriented towards nothing.
Nashville missed an oppurtunity to make a really great stadium. They could have designed it with a view in mind. Perhaps it might be like Kyle Field.
Wouldn't that have been amazing?
Or maybe like Bryant-Denny Stadium in Alabama.
This stadium is wasted in Alabama. They have nothing to view, but certainly it is easy to imagine the Nashville skyline sparkling in the distance..
Or perhaps one might imagine an arch across a river.
We should remember that the loss of an entire side of a stadium doesn't mean much. By seating capacity the stadia I've listed are.
Bryant-Denny 101,000
Kyle Stadium 82,600
LP Field 68,804
Edward Jones Dome 66,965
Busch Stadium 43,975
We can move the Rams to East St. Louis, but we need to do it while respecting the flood plain and keeping our eyes on downtown.
You're becoming a photoshoping master.
ReplyDeleteLove this post, I've been saying it myself for a long time now. TCF Bank stadium in Minnesota is a great stadium that handles drainage and runoff pretty well. Its supposedly the first green stadium in the country. A stadium in Illinois would be tremendous. We already have metrolink access and tons of undeveloped land. I agree handling drainage parking and maximizing the view are the biggest needs.
ReplyDeleteI love the photoshop pic.
tailgating is another reason why I'm in favor of the eastside. It leaves behind a desert of concrete when its not being used but tailgating is big part of the game day experience and something Rams fans really want. Hopefully a compromise can be reached with an east st louis stadium. Downtown gets its grid back and valuable land made more valuable by dropping I-70 and Rams fans get an incredible stadium and parking. And Stan Kroenke can make money on parking ala Jerry Jones. But drainage is a must.
ReplyDeleteOh one other thing with a new stadium, you have to believe Kroenke is thinking about hosting a superbowl. With the exception of New York the NFL wants warm weather superbowls. The superbowl is expected to generate 500 million for the New York region. A superbowl would be great in St. Louis but can we get one without a retractable roof? On the other hand I wouldn't want a retractable roof that obstructs the view of the skyline.
ReplyDeleteThat's another issue that may be on the table when it comes to stadium design.
But, but, but the east side should be a National Park so that people can find green space and have a picnic.
ReplyDelete^not all of the eastside is part of the archgrounds - casino queen north onward. But yes I'm with you pal. St. Louis has enough green space. Forest Park, Gateway Mall, Arch Grounds. Take your pic. There becomes a point when additional green space is just as blighting as concrete.
ReplyDelete6th worst sports stadium in America?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.totalprosports.com/2010/07/26/9-of-the-worst-sports-stadiums-in-america/