Quote:
Originally Posted by monkeyman
I don't know if you realise this, but that area has already been kickstarted, and it had nothing to do with an arena.
|
It really has. If you look at it from the bow river all the way up to the stampede grounds, functionality is evolving every year within the area. There are numerous festivals with fantastic pathway, vehicle and transit access. Dining options are starting to show as above average and shopping is slowly popping up as well.....All of this with no arena. It's only going to improve as Inglewood is reconnected with the new bridge and improved pedestrian access continues as the pathways are upgraded. Other venues like studio bell, the central library, the proposed indoor food hall, new convention center, outdoor gym and urban parks only add to the sustainability of the area. Again, all without an arena.
I'd much rather have an area like this that is capable of standing on its own merit than having some shallow arena district plugged in that offers little to nothing unless you're talking Flames game day or concert. Working backwards to fit everything that actually matters around an arena is nothing more than lunacy derived from simplistic small town ideology that produces areas that quickly lose their luster due to serving only one primary function: the arena.