University of Cincinnati

UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI Date:___________________ I, _________________________________________________________, hereby submit this work as part of the requirements for the degree of: in: It is entitled: This work and its defense approved by: Chair: _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ URBAN BALLPARK DESIGN: A HOLISTIC STRATEGY TOWARD VITALIZATION A thesis submitted to the Department of Architecture of the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARCHITECTURE in the Department of Architecture in the College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning 2004 by Craig Penquite B.S. Arch, University of Cincinnati, 2002 Committee Chair: Gordon Simmons Nnamdi Elleh Udo Greinacher Abstract Stadiums have an important function in the life of American cities, providing a social outlet for people as well as creating an image and sense of pride in the community. The impact of sport facilities on the urban fabric can be significant because of the importance of a sport franchise to the public. Sport facilities involve important urban design issues of land use, infrastructure, context and public use. The amount of space these facilities use, their urban impact, and the cost to the public in relation to how often they are used, are critical questions. The social ritual of attending a sport event can be the design basis for integrating a stadium into the urban fabric in a way that vitalizes its surroundings. A space that promotes social interaction on a consistent level will create an ongoing social life beyond specific times of the day, month or year. As more and more stadiums were built in the 1990s, city officials believed that such facilities would be catalysts for urban revitalization. Whether or not this is true remains to be seen. Recently, stadium design has focused on creating a retro-style aesthetic as the means of integration, rather than examining more deeply ideas of context and connections of space that might prove more effective. Downtown stadiums have the opportunity to spur rejuvenation in an area, but the ability to sustain that energy once the newness is gone speaks to the enduring qualities of the architecture. Inherent in the issue of downtown stadiums and revitalization are urban design concerns of context, infrastructure and circulation as well as economic issues and the social issues for which sports have become so popular in Western culture. Intensive research and design consideration of a combination of the physical, social and economic considerations may allow stadiums to have a greater positive impact on the downtowns they inhabit. The fruition of the concepts of the thesis will be a Minor League Baseball stadium for Columbus, Ohio. The ideas within this thesis are meant to be broad and not specific to one city, but applicable to cities in the United States. The design should be seen as a case study in which the ideas of the thesis are explored and put into action. Besides the stadium, the design will use a synergistic approach that will include accessory functions meant to supplement the stadium, attract people and create a viable area that sustains the excitement of the event on a regular basis. Table of Contents: Thesis Introduction …………………………………………….………… 2 History ……………………………..………………………….…….. 6 Critical Issues …………………..…………………………….….. 11 Physical ………………..…………………………….….. 12 Social ……………………………………………..…….… 21 Economic ……………………………………………….. 25 Integration ……………….….………………………….. 28 Experiences ………………………………………………………... 32 Thesis Precedents .,……………………………………………… 35 Background and Summary ………………………………….. 40 Design Program and Site Introduction …………………………………………... 46 Design Program General Information ………………………………. 47 Space Program ………………………………………. 48 Program History ……………………………………. 61 Program Precedents ………………………………. 64 Images ………………………………………………….. 70 Site General Description ……………………………….. 73 Site History ……………………………………………. 74 Detail Physical Analyses ………………………….. 76 Site Precedents ………………………………………. 81 Images …………………………………………………... 87 Bibliography ……………………………………………………………….. 91 1 Introduction Throughout history people have competed in activities that showcase strength, speed and skill. Spectators have gathered to support their favorites and root against their opponents. Sport has a special place in the culture of Western society; it embodies athleticism and fitness as well as a means of social gathering. Architecture creates the stage on which the performers compete and provides a place for spectators to view the action in assembly with others. As the urban fabric of America has changed, so have the urban design philosophies of sport facilities. When people departed the city for the suburbs in mid-century, many of the stadiums followed them. Today, as cities try to revitalize their urban cores and bring people back into the cities, city officials have tried to relocate sport facilities downtown to be catalysts for revitalization. The issues at the heart of this thesis include the positive, generative urban impact of these structures and how those facilities can be used year- round. In the past decade new sport stadiums have popped up in many Denver’s Invesco Field, 2001, football stadium cities in the United States; some cities have built more than one facility within a span of three to five years. The ability of today’s structures to fit into the urban fabric and deal with the automobile are major issues. The public has been told that these facilities are necessary for their team and Denver’s Pepsi Center, 1999, basketball their city to compete economically with other cities. A relatively and hockey consistent aesthetic has arisen, especially in baseball stadiums. The designs of the structures of the 1990s are reminiscent of the facilities built around the 1900s. Most of them are baseball “parks,” mainly Denver’s Coors Field, 1999, baseball neighborhood structures that contain only one sport. But uniform 2 characteristics or criteria for the urban design of these facilities are still lacking. In addition to the physical elements of stadium design in urban areas, there are issues that are less tangible. They include the social spirit that produces urban vitality, the charged atmosphere that occurs during sport events and provides an area with energy. Exploiting the social aspects of sport and the urban design potentials can create a desired outcome in which sport stadiums are used as an effective means for Crowd outside of stadium prior to the event revitalization. Inherent in the topic of sport stadiums as a means of revitalization is the economic impact of stadiums on a city and the realistic economic expectations for a sport facility. Although the economics of cities in terms of private versus public development goes beyond the field of architecture, a general understanding of the economic forces and strategies at work is essential. Recently the “trinity of synergy”1 – entertainment, dining and retail – has been a trend for the economic development of cities. The strategies of economic development of urban Coors Field in Denver, Colorado has areas can merge with contemporary ideas associated with stadium design provided the centerpiece for Lower Downtown’s revitalization to help revitalize downtown areas. The synthesis of these three areas, physical, social and economic, should be considered by architects in the planning and design of sport facilities. The concern at the core of this argument is how architecture can exploit these issues in the design of a new stadium and its 1 Tim Chapin. “Urban Entertainment Centers as Economic Development.” American Planning Association. v. 65 n. 3. Summer 1999. pp. 339-340. 3 surrounding urban fabric—specifically a baseball stadium in downtown Columbus, Ohio. This document begins with an examination the history of sport facilities in past cultures—Egyptian, Mesoamerican, Greek and Roman, and extending into the recent past after the revival of the Olympic Games helped resurrect the idea of sport facilities as important civic structures. The section finishes with a brief history of sport facilities in America, focusing specifically on baseball stadiums. This chronicles the changes that have occurred in stadium construction and the relationship of the structures to the city in which they were located. The next section, Critical Issues, deals with the primary concerns of the thesis. Physical, social and economic aspects of sport facilities and cities as well as the integration of these issues are considered in this section. The Experiences section examines the social and cultural impact of baseball in America. It uses remarks from sport writers and broadcasters, poets, presidents and others to discuss the experience of going to the ballpark and attending a baseball game. Heaped in nostalgia, the section demonstrates the power of baseball on the culture of America. Thesis Precedents examines buildings such as Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and Sydney Opera House for their iconic image that can be used to draw people to a city. Jacobs Field in Cleveland offers an example of a stadium that has been combined with other functions to create an entertainment district for the purpose of revitalizing an area of the downtown. Walt Disney World in Orlando is an example of a tourist city. The final section of the thesis summarizes the key points and the design implications for the design for a stadium in Columbus, Ohio. 4

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