Memo to Buffalo Rising - You need a bigger stadium footprint!
I check out ElmwoodBuffalo Rising pretty regularly - the city development articles are enlightening, the food stuff OK, and the rah-rah-riness is always served with extra sugar. The most entertaining part of most of their pieces come from the commenters - the regulars on that site have got to be the stupidest collection of knuckleheads ever.
Evidently, one of the commenters made it to the big time with his very own reader submission. And right from the get go, the article discussing where to place a new football stadium in this region devolves into mush and loses all credibility.
Why, you ask? I will tell you…
If you want to build a new stadium with the same size and configuration as Ralph Wilson Stadium, here is what you will get… a 70s era facility with few amenities or creature comforts, dank narrow concourses, few open public spaces, no architectural significance, and an obsolete facility from the get go. Today’s modern NFL stadium doubles as a convention facility, a retail hub, a multiuse year round structure with diverse applications. Now, take Arizona’s University of Phoenix Stadium, Houston’s Reliant Stadium or St. Louis’ Edward Jones Dome and superimpose those on a map of Buffalo, and you can begin a sensible discussion. My guess is that any one of these buildings have a footprint 50-60% larger than that of The Ralph.
And as usual, the BRO family of kooks come through with their banality in fine form…
Chiknlil….Let’s find a place that is attractive, but protected from the weather. The last thing we need is the perpetuation of Buffalo as a cold wasteland whenever we are featured on national TV.
Wasn’t there a plan to put a covered stadium in Lancaster, just south of the Thruway? What happened to that idea?
Attractive and protected from the weather… How about South Beach? And yes idiot, there was an idea for a covered stadium in Lancaster… in 1969!!!
Read on…
Bison 716…I say Niagera Falls is our best bet!!! A Super Bowl is more likely to happen there, maybe the Olympics (winter-most likely) the fact that the “BUFFALO Bills” (remind you…BUFFALO) is asscociated with Niagera falls is great for our city, as long as we can figure a way to get rail from downtown to the stadium.
A Super Bowl in Buffalo? The OLYMPICS??? What medication is this guy taking?
RiaingDamp666…Why not build stadiums at all of the locations above and let The People decide which ones they want to go to. That’s the democratic way, isn’t it?
Ugh, how do you even respond to that?
I am ashamed to admit it, but I actually used to post comments on BRO. I got off that kick about a year ago at least.
Mark at our sister site All Things Buffalo offers a reasonable take on how we should proceed with the stadium plans. As usual, Mark is spot on. Then check out the comments… Steel, the flamekeeper of the BRO Amen Corner, proceeds to pick Mark apart.
Talkin_Proud Says:November 12th, 2007 at 1:57 pm
Any stadium project downtown had better incorporate adequate green space and 1st floor retail. Maybe even a mixed use tower attached with Class A office space and condos?
;D
Oh, those amateur architects. Bless their silly little hearts.
Chris Says:November 12th, 2007 at 6:17 pm
PRETTY MUCH MY ONLY QUESTION IS THIS?
Since the current conditions in the downtown area outside of the HSBC Arena, Chippewa , and Dunn Tire Park are less than “booming” at night or on non-event days WHAT COULD IT POSSIBLY HURT TO BUILD THIS TYPE OF “EVENTS/SPORTS/CONVENTION CENTER?”
In these days where we are welcoming “BASS PRO” as a means of boosting the economy and the waterfront, why not use the established teams and organizations that already exist and pool your ideas and resources to build around the would be “downtown football stadium. You would then have 3 stadium facilities within mere blocks of each other. In citiies like Baltimore and Cleveland people were willing to take that risk and now those 2 cities are MAJOR PLAYERS. Let’s not be so negative and pesimistic but instead let’s think about getting buffalo back on the map as a place people want to come to. For far too long we have been known as a LOSER City and damn I’m tired of it.
It’s the attitude of ” o no way that’ll never work in Buffalo” that is why things never ever get tried. If you never take a risk and try then you can and will never succseed.
GREAT ARTICLE ANDREW!!! WE NEED MORE PEOPLE LIKE YOU WHO AREN’T AFRAID TO TELL THINGS HOW THEY ARE!
Allen Street Says:November 13th, 2007 at 9:58 am
Andrew, why so bitter?
I actually enjoyed reading the article knowing it wasn’t drawn to scale.
BUT WHO FREAKING CARES?
I’d rather have an engaged public now rather than what we had 30 - 40 years ago when UB ended up in Amherst, Rich Stadium in OP and so on.
Grow up.