Sports teams are like crack-cocaine to city administrators. They seem to see them as the quick fix to harsh economic realities, building new stadiums to attract or retain teams as economic investments. Rarely does the investment change the harsh reality, but it does put a buzz in the air. Still, taxpayers are typically left paying the bill long after the life of the stadium. This is the case in Indianapolis as they open the Indianapolis Colts new Lucas Oil Stadium and get ready to demolish the Hoosier Dome, which is yet to be paid for.
Regardless of the cost, the new stadium is going to be a great asset for the city as it continues to grow and expand its urban identity. There are certainly valid criticism of architecture too, but generally I think that it works well. Putting a monolithic structure in modern downtown is no small feat and the siting and building design do well to integrate it as much as possible with the rest of the downtown. Hopefully mixed use developments will continue to emerge in the areas around the stadium.
Really though, I just can’t wait for the Colts to show the Bengals how a professional football team should conduct itself, no offense Cincinnati.
An architectural review from the Indianapolis Star
6 Comments
08/19/2008 at 5:39 pm
I just can’t wait for the Colts to show the Bengals how a professional football team should conduct itself.
Hmm, I seem to remember a time when the Patriots were the poster children for sportsmanship and good behavior, and look at what they’ve been up to lately.
08/20/2008 at 7:55 am
We were in Indy a couple months ago, I was surprised how much I liked the look of their new stadium.
I guess someone could make a case that civic works such as stadiums are the new coliseums. Can’t argue with what they do to downtown, although only 8 Sundays a year.
08/20/2008 at 11:03 am
5chw4r7z, I think you are right about stadiums being a new civic effort. This is clearly the case in Indy were the support for the team seems almost universal and core to the identity of the city. Probably not so much in Cincinnati where the team is kind of embarrassing.
Also, Indy’s new stadium has some great design features that allow it to be used beyond the regular season games. Both the old and new stadiums were designed to be part of the convention center and the new stadium has retractable seating to host a number of other events throughout the year.
08/21/2008 at 8:07 am
Three words for Indy that Cincinnati lacked at the time PBS was built.
Vision, Vision, Vision
09/23/2008 at 12:30 am
I like it, but I don’t know if I like it $720M much though…roughly $300M more than the award winning (albeit underused) Paul Brown Stadium.
09/30/2008 at 8:19 am
Paul Brown was built 8 years ago. Not that that accounts for everything, but it is something