Index of SPPS Budget Discussion http://www.e-democracy.org/stpaul/spps-posts.html _________________________________________ I'm sorry I added my opinion that the benefits claimed for the Xcel Center are debatable to my earlier post. No doubt, the Excel center has generated some activity for some bars and restaurants. I still have questions as to just how much of the increased activity along West 7th is attributable to it though.
The question I was hoping to raise, however, was whether another single purpose facility like a baseball stadium is the best use of the space where it would go. Aren't there other kinds of development that would be more beneficial to a wider group of residents and visitors than a baseball stadium? I'm thinking of a multiple use development involving transit, small retail, hospitality and housing that would generate traffic over a greater time period than a baseball stadium used for only a small part of the year. _________________________________________ St. Paul is not the only city where a downtown stadium is causing controversy. NY is also considering a proposal to build a stadium for the Jets on Manhattan's Westside. A letter to the editor of the NY Times today about that proposal seemed to me to apply to the St. Paul situation as well. It is as follows: > "To tie up several viable Manhattan [or St. Paul] > blocks with monolithic structures that will only > support conventions and sports events ignores the > lessons learned from the urban renewal era, when > intricate blocks of varied uses were cleared for > sterile and generally single-function complexes in > cities across the United States. > > One need only to look at the barren sidewalks that > surround the present Javits Center [or River Centre] > to get a sense of what either or both these projects > would add to the West Side. > > The city would be better off developing these blocks > with a mix of apartments, offices, retail and > institutional space � uses that will draw people at > all times of the day, week and year and be of > greater > value to a broader range of city residents and > visitors. > > DANIEL CAMPO > Philadelphia, March 2, 2004 > The writer is a lecturer in the department of city > and > regional planning, University of Pennsylvania. > > The above seems worth considering in our own stadium > debate. > > Also, I was in The Glockenspiel last night and it > was > packed. Had to wait a while for a table. It was not > crowded with people who came downtown for an event > elsewhere, just people enjoying themselves on West > 7th > Street. The argument that West 7th St. owes its > increasing vitality to the Xcel Center is I think > open > to question. > > Charlie Swope > Ward 1 > > _____________________________________________ SPPS Budget Reduction Forum - Feb. 23-27 Co-Sponsored By NEAT: http://www.stpaulneat.org/ _____________________________________________ NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul Archive Address: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/
