Quote:
Originally Posted by MTLskyline
Projet Montréal's vision for the Bonaventure site (one of the options included in the feasibility study)
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I really don't know about that particular location - stadiums look great on paper, but because of their sporadic use and large footprint, they basically condemn all of their immediate surroundings to be lifeless except for game or concert nights.
That's amplified by the fact that it's surrounded on all sides by either railroads, water or seemingly empty plazas: what reason would anyone have to be there at all other than to be going to or coming from a game?
It's precisely BECAUSE the space is surrounded by such inactive elements that that particular lot should aim for intense, all-day use: a tasteful mix restaurants, offices, insitutional uses, appartments, shops and bars (entre autre) would lay down the necessary 24-h activity foundations on which more infrequent uses can build (things like stadiums, concert halls, casinos and all that jazz). Ottawa's doing a good job of this with our new Lansdowne Stadium which is being built alongside a new, mixed-use district in near the centre of town and along the canal: it will be full for events, but it will also be full of people living, working and shopping there for the other 95% of time.
As much as I'd like something similar to be achieved in my future hometown (UdeM Urbanisme in September!), the limited amount of space and the huge footprint of a baseball stadium makes it pretty prohibitive. It might be worth weighing whether saving a few minutes getting to the stadium is worth depriving the Peel Bassin of activity, urbanity and interest.
So if it's a stadium you want, go ahead, but it's vital that there be that base of activity there. Otherwise, all you'll have is a sad, empty, underused piece of prime downtown waterfront and a wasted opportunity to define a district.