Soccer Stadium

[stdennis]

I think if we build it close to the heart of the city or in a largely populated area we should have less parking added and try to increase public transportation to the area if we can. As much as i would like a stadium near the river and in the heart of the city i dont know if its a viable option until we can increase our public transportation.

[CaptDave]

I agree actually. But to say that stadiums in England are more like our football stadiums here isn't true. Even Chelsea are looking to build a new stadium and cant expand their current one because there isn't enough transit capacity to support anymore people on a game day.

That being said they are looking to expand to 60,000 people from about 40,000 and we wouldn't even come close to those numbers.

That is why I think Swansea's stadium is a close approximation of what OKC can realistically expect. It seats a little under 21000 and they play in the EPL. It is near major thoroughfares and adjacent to a river. It has some parking but isn't surrounded by 100 acres of asphalt.

[hoya]

Any stadium needs transit access to get people to it. Right now in OKC the only real viable form of transit is a car (I know Sid will disagree, but yeah). That doesn't mean that this should or will remain the case in the future.

If a private organization wants to build a soccer stadium in the middle of a farmer's field and surround it with a square mile of asphalt, that's fine with me. But if the city is involved and we are spending public money, then it should follow the city's plan for future growth. We are taking the first steps towards building what is hopefully a very comprehensive public transportation system. I like the area right around Wiley Post Park. It makes this stadium into a future destination and encourages investment in the immediate area. It also puts it within a short travel time of many of its expected users. People don't have to drive if they live three blocks away. If a stadium were to be built in this area, we would want it to coincide with perhaps a Phase 3 of the streetcar, allowing people to park in any of the downtown garages (presumably fairly empty at night or on the weekends or whenever it is that people play soccer) and have quick and easy access to the stadium. There are cost advantages to doing this, because the stadium is built on less land and doesn't have to include expensive (or expansive) parking areas.

But it needs to be planned out. One thing we haven't been good about has been coordinating all these different projects. Ideally you'd want the streetcar line operational for a few months before the first game, to give businesses time to open and prepare, and get people used to using that route (or at least increase public awareness of said route). If you ran a streetcar down that line every 4 minutes in the hour leading up to a game, and every 4 minutes in the hour after a game, you would need minimal parking immediately in the area. This would give room for a lot more shops and restaurants and things like that.

And I think it should have a Spanish architectural style. Just to be different.

[bluedogok]

And I think it should have a Spanish architectural style. Just to be different.

I don't think Funk would spring for the Camp Nou (remodel) replica in OKC, Barcelona FC nixed the remodel that would have pushed the stadium to 106,000.



Here's what it really looks like, it holds 99,000.

[hoya]

I was just really thinking something like this:

[bluedogok]

I was just really thinking something like this:

I knew what you were alluding to, just messin' with you. I did get tired of doing faux-Tuscan buildings in Austin because they are popular there with developers and would rather it have it's own distinct style rather than placing some style from some place else. There are also a lot of varying styles in Spain between the different regions.

[Spartan]

Wooooooooooooooooooooooooow. Barcelona is cool.

[mugofbeer]

My fantasy vote: I'd like to see something on the south side of the fairgrounds between Reno and the RR tracks. Curve Reno to the south where needed. Then, clear the development on the south side of Reno to I-40 and tie the fairgrounds to the Oklahoma River and lake. Could see canals dredged from the river up to the stadium area and fairgrounds for a larger entertainment district of some sort.

[CaptDave]

Somehow Real Madrid puts 100,000 people in a stadium that isn't surrounded by parking lots....the Bernabeu is on my list of "must see" sporting destinations.



Surely there is a site in OKC that could eventually accomodate a 21-25,000 seat stadium without being the typical American edifice in a sea of asphalt. Surely there are places like that in the US that we could take the best attributes and emulate them with a bit of OKC style.

[bradh]

of course Madrid does that, how much old city is Madrid, and how long was it around before the automobile was even an idea? not really a fair comparison, but see my picture of Houston's soccer stadium, even in the massive sprawling 713, you can build a stadium downtown without massive asphalt fields.

[Urbanized]

Any chance there is a Metro station for the stadium? That would explain a lot.

[CaptDave]

It was an extreme comparison for sure. I agree the Dynamo stadium is a pretty good template. There are a few good sites for such a stadium in OKC now. The Farmer's Market site is particularly intriguing to me - I think the redevelopment potential in that area is immense and it could become a very cool district. Coop, Pull A Part, and Riverside South would make up my top four choices for a future MLS stadium of 21000 or so seats. The Funk concept is better situated somewhere like Remington Park as has been suggested.

[CaptDave]

Any chance there is a Metro station for the stadium? That would explain a lot.

Quite certain there is - and another reason why getting transit restored in OKC is so important.

[Bellaboo]

Here's what it really looks like, it holds 99,000.
[/QUOTE]

I took a tour of Camp Nu last year, only parking for some buses, and the nearest subway portal is about 7 - 8 blocks away.
I can imagine how busy it is on game day.

[bluedogok]

At Fenway Park there are two stations by the stadium a few blocks away but they are both on the Green Line, it gets awfully crowded after a game. It is definitely not like the Addison stop right by Wrigley Field, 161st/Yankee Stadium stop or the Willets Point stop at Shea Stadium/Citi Field which are adjacent to the property.

[Kokopelli]

The release this week of the Alternative D option for the new Boulevard and the Adventure District Rail Line proposal reinforces the thought that the Farmers Market area would be a viable location for a soccer stadium. (the lot bound by I-40, 3rd Str, Western Ave and Exchange Ave)

Option D not only would connects the Farmers Market to downtown it will bring a parkway of development opportunities to the area. The biggest obstacle to over come would be the parking.

The building of massive parking lots could be avoided by borrowing a page from the ADL proposal. A rail line currently runs on the south edge of the property, on the west this line runs through the state fairgrounds and on the east it passes by the parking lot just east of Ok Land Run Park. Adding simple boarding platforms to the three locations could be done fairly easy.

[ljbab728]

For those who may not read the sports threads.

http://www.okctalk.com/sports/34546-...um-coming.html

[CaptDave]

The release this week of the Alternative D option for the new Boulevard and the Adventure District Rail Line proposal reinforces the thought that the Farmers Market area would be a viable location for a soccer stadium. (the lot bound by I-40, 3rd Str, Western Ave and Exchange Ave)

Option D not only would connects the Farmers Market to downtown it will bring a parkway of development opportunities to the area. The biggest obstacle to over come would be the parking.

The building of massive parking lots could be avoided by borrowing a page from the ADL proposal. A rail line currently runs on the south edge of the property, on the west this line runs through the state fairgrounds and on the east it passes by the parking lot just east of Ok Land Run Park. Adding simple boarding platforms to the three locations could be done fairly easy.

I like the way you are thinking and that location is very interesting to me. I think it would be relatively easy to provide sufficient parking in the area. The main issue with your idea is that rail line is owned by Union Pacific and they generally do not permit commuter rail operations on their rights of way. It could work if a separate line for the exclusive use of commuter operation was built alongside the UP line - just take a few bucks to do it. Great idea and there is a possibility it could be done, but it isn't a quick fix or process.

[Just the facts]

If you could separate the stadium from the rest of the complex you could put it in a lot of places downtown, but the land area they are wanting to take up with grass would be cost prohibitive inside the urban core. If we turn downtown OKC and the adjacent area in to 500 acres of park space, soccer fields, and parking lots we will never achieve any kind of density.

[CaptDave]

Good point JTF - of the two proposed professional soccer stadium complexes, one of them would be appropriate for the downtown area as proposed. The one with 10 fields and huge parking lots surrounding the stdium is best for a location such as the Adventure District as others have suggested. There is a place for those types of complexes, but it would not be the best use of downtown land. I have lost track of what each group is proposing for their stadium, but there have been some great ideas for locations - especially the Farmer's Market idea.

[Rover]

Parking lots and practice fields can easily be redeveloped into more urban area when transit options and real estate demands increase. Just use short term leases for the parking areas and fields surrounding it instead of deeding the entire land mass. Don't allow permanent structures other than the stadium itself and structured parking of an acceptable nature. Until we have adequate transportation alternatives we must allow for cars. But it doesn't always have to be that way. We just need to plan for progress.

[CaptDave]

That certainly could work for parking the first few years - and it probably the most likely scenario depending on the location selected. I think there should also be a progressive reduction of parking acreage delineated in the land lease agreement. If this is as successful as hoped, I can see demand to develop around the stadium being very strong after a couple of years. As better mass transit options come on line reducing the amount of parking available will steer more people toward the transit option.

As much as I like FC Dallas, I don't think the Pizza Hut Park complex should be recreated in downtown OKC. Just not the appropriate location for that type of facility IMO. One proposal calls for 10(?) additional playing fields for the developmental teams, tournaments, etc. For a downtown soccer facility, I think all that is needed is the stadium itself, support staff facility, and a training field. The training field could even be off site like the Thunder training facility is located away from the Chesapeake Arena.