urbanSTL

Tready wrote:Ballpark Village and Busch Stadium got some positive press over at Urban Milwaukee.



http://urbanmilwaukee.com/2009/05/28/mi ... -st-louis/

Fascinating to read this from Milwaukee's perspective. Sometimes we do things the right way and don't recognize it until someone from the outside sees it. It is a great view of the Arch -- much better view than the old stadium. And with downtown amenities and metro-link, our stadium is very accessible. We don't need a dome with our climate -- another asset we don't recognize. (I heard even Miami plans to put a retractable dome on their planned stadium -- why?) I'm not really a tailgater, so I like having all the restaurants within very short walking distance of Rams and Cardinals games. And, like the article said, traffic doesn't seem to be a problem before and after games. Once Ballpark Village gets built, this can really be the premier baseball venue in the country.

Gary Kreie wrote:. (I heard even Miami plans to put a retractable dome on their planned stadium -- why?)

Because it storms 90% of the time in Miami and it is hot as crap in the summer down there.

Day games in Miami are dreadfully hot, and it rains ever day.

Thanks for posting the link, Tready. It's always nice to hear out of towners envying us.



I don't get their population comparison, though. St. Louis is clearly much larger than Milwaukee.

Moorlander wrote:Day games in Miami are dreadfully hot, and it rains ever day.

I find that every city thinks its weather is terrible and that is why they need a retractable dome. And it doesn't matter if they are in the North or South or Midwest.

D Lay'd yet again



http://stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/ ... ily63.html

Neither the PD or biz journal really reporting a clear reason or definited statement for the delay. PD alluded to a boad member not being satisfied where as the biz journal alluded to DeWitt/Cordish not ready to provide details. This is reminding me a lot of what was going on after Slay and Centene made their big announcement and then the quiet because no one had the guts to stand forward and make blunt comments on their position.



What really scares me is Stifel's lack of comment. Do they still have a pre-lease agreement, or they shopping for space elsewhere in the city, or they thinking about leaving the city, county or state altogether (their last go around with the state attorney general doesn't help matters in my mind). We need to find a way to accomondate successful and expanding local companies.

Dredger wrote:What really scares me is Stifel's lack of comment. Do they still have a pre-lease agreement, or they shopping for space elsewhere in the city, or they thinking about leaving the city, county or state altogether (their last go around with the state attorney general doesn't help matters in my mind). We need to find a way to accomondate successful and expanding local companies.

Check out Stifel's board of directors.

Don't know if it means much, but Stifel Nicklaus has added signage to the Summit Place II building out near Winghaven and I-64 in St. Charles. This building is adjacent to the Bristol Seafood Restaurant in O'Fallon.

datawhse wrote:Don't know if it means much, but Stifel Nicklaus has added signage to the Summit Place II building out near Winghaven and I-64 in St. Charles. This building is adjacent to the Bristol Seafood Restaurant in O'Fallon.

That's a new branch office, like the ones in Clayton, Kirkwood, etc.

DeBaliviere, thanks for the earlier post/link to Stifel's Board of Directors. Answers some questions in the back of my mind.



I would love to hear their take of the situation at the moment. Most likely they would have their hand in selling bonds. I think it would be more informative then what DeWitt is going to say at Downtown St. Louis luncheon tomorrow.

Dredger wrote:I think it would be more informative then what DeWitt is going to say at Downtown St. Louis luncheon tomorrow.

I'm sure he'll continue to blame the lack of action at Softball Village on the economy, as if the Cardinals and Cordish ever had a sense of urgency in the first place.

Why We Aren't (Ballpark) Village People

The civic masterpiece next to Busch Stadium would be better left unfinished

By Ray Hartmann



From St. Louis Magazine July 2009 p. 52 (no link, hard copy).

Two words that turn me off from that article: Ray Hartman

Hartman's bizarre logic: don't build anything, as anything that should be built has already been built.

Roy314 wrote:Hartman's bizarre logic: don't build anything, as anything that should be built has already been built.

Millenium Park was a mistake.

Began researching some cordish projects over the past couple days, most notably the Power and Light district in KC. Maybe the city of STL was being "cheap" when they decided not to back BPV bonds, or maybe they were just smart.

ntbpo wrote:Maybe the city of STL was being "cheap" when they decided not to back BPV bonds, or maybe they were just smart.

I'm inclined to believe the latter is the case, although I must say that the lack of anything built at Ballpark Village was one of the few major disappointments (I mean, the Cardinals didn't even try all that hard to make a surface lot and a softball field look good) in an otherwise spectacular week for St. Louis.

Went to KC this weekend and was able to see P and L up close. Very cool place, lots of chains of course but it was packed at night and looks really good while integrating with the rest of the city. I think that when ballpark village is finally done this will really be a draw for tourists, and suburbanites that normally leave downtown as soon as the game is over. This will of course bring more people into the city, liven up the dead side of downtown and in my opinion help the rest of downtown. the only area I see as a direct competion would be the landing.



Anyway, I found the ballpark villiage website and was not sure if it had been posted.

http://www.stlballparkvillage.com/



I watched the video again and it is really a great development, the video is out of date because it mentions the bowling hall of fame, but it still gives you the idea of what this area could look like.



Lets hope one day it gets started!

The Missouri Development and Finance Board has refused to take up this matter...again. Obviously the Cardinals and Cordish have had their work cut out for them to strengthen their case while waiting for the bond market to improve, but why does the MDFB keep kicking this down the road?



My hopes for this project are still greatly diminished, but it would sure be nice to see even a faint hint of urgency and/or progress.