811 replies to this topic

[atlrvr]

For the most part, I like the site plan.

I've actaully changed my tune.  Thought I'm not a big proponent of the ballpark there, I do think that if Charlotte ever gets a major league team, they should find a way to expand this park.  They actually spent some effort making it fit into an urban street grid, and it makes it somewhat unique.  Fenway Park is special to Boston because of the way it fits into the streetscape, and isn't some generic dome on a large parcel of land.

I realize how difficult it would be to go from 10k to 40k seats, but they should at least have some conceptual idea of how upper decks could be added so that it is in theory at least possible to add them in the future.

As far at the future building envelope, I'd like to see a hotel, with exterior balconies facing the park.  The Knights could receive revenue from the hotel for rooms facing the field on game days.

[dbull75]

charlotte49ersuptown, on Sep 4 2007, 01:41 PM, said:

The Charlotte Knights have submited a revised site plan from the earlier one noted on this forum.  Here is the link: http://ww.charmeck.o.....n revised.pdf  Once again the site plan we all want to look at is on page 3.  They made some important changes.  First off, the parking is gone from MLK and now there is a detailed explanation of MLK, with on-street parking on both sides.  Also, the Knights have labeled where their team store, ticket booth, and restaurant will go.   Finally, they got rid of the plaza out along Fourth and put Future Building Envelope, which it were up to me would be condos facing the field like a Wrigley Park or Petco Park situation.  I attended the last Knights game yesterday and on the concourse they had a table with renderings and the siteplan on boards.  Nothing new but they had quite a few people asking questions and filling out feedback forms.  Good to see they are being proactive, next year they will start the big effort of getting season ticket holders and sponsors for the new ballpark.

I actually like this site plan. I'm glad to see that they are incorporating a restaurant in the plan as well. Wonder what that may be? I think something like a Buffalo Wild Wings would be a great fit. As far as that development "envelope" goes, I think putting a hotel or mid-rise condos/office buildings would be a logical fit. Or maybe that's left open for expanding the stadium if down the road we land a MLB team

[cityboi]

rockhilljames, on Aug 9 2007, 08:37 AM, said:

I'm not a fan of the site plan at all. If the space is too small, it's too small. Seems like we're losing park land to end up with a less than adequete baseball stadium, not a great trade off. I'd love the ballpark to be uptown, but it should be a showplace...not a thing they've settled for.

I do agree, It should be about having a spectaular facility that reflect Charlott'e big time thinking and not just settling for anything just because its uptown. This stadium should be THE BEST minor league ballpark in the country. $30 million seems kind of low for a AAA stadium, considering most new AA ready ballparks like in downtown Greensboro were around $25 million. And I think the planned downtown ballpark in Winston-Salem is $27 million and thats a 5,000 seat Single A stadium

Edited by cityboi, 04 September 2007 - 12:37 PM.

[stadtguy]

There are some great examples of AAA ballparks, I especially like Louisville's. I'm personally not a big fan of these boosterism projects. However, if it's going to happen (and it is), we might as well maximize the benefits. In the Louisville photos, I find the grassy outfield area for sunbathing and relaxing a nice touch.

[tiblerbrit]

Well they're getting the land and infrastructure for free, so the $30 million goes entirely towards the cost of the building. I'm not sure if thats the case for the others you mentioned.

cityboi, on Sep 4 2007, 12:32 PM, said:

I do agree, It should be about having a spectaular facility that reflect Charlott'e big time thinking and not just settling for anything just because its uptown. This stadium should be THE BEST minor league ballpark in the country. $30 million seems kind of low for a AAA stadium, considering most new AA ready ballparks like in downtown Greensboro were around $25 million. And I think the planned downtown ballpark in Winston-Salem is $27 million and thats a 5,000 seat Single A stadium

[Raintree21]

dbull75, on Sep 4 2007, 02:17 PM, said:

I actually like this site plan. I'm glad to see that they are incorporating a restaurant in the plan as well. Wonder what that may be? I think something like a Buffalo Wild Wings would be a great fit. As far as that development "envelope" goes, I think putting a hotel or mid-rise condos/office buildings would be a logical fit. Or maybe that's left open for expanding the stadium if down the road we land a MLB team

As long as it's not elitist and overly expensive like the restaurant at the Bobcat's arena I'll be happy. A nice, fairly inexpensive sports bar that can be open on days that aren't game days would be great.

[cityboi]

tiblerbrit, on Sep 4 2007, 12:42 PM, said:

Well they're getting the land and infrastructure for free, so the $30 million goes entirely towards the cost of the building. I'm not sure if thats the case for the others you mentioned.

In the case of Greensboro it was a county land swap too. Greensboro's stadium was around $25 million.

A number of AAA ballparks across the country are costing around $45 million which is why I thought $30 million was kinda low. If the county land is worth about $15 million than that would average about right.

Edited by cityboi, 04 September 2007 - 01:15 PM.

[Raintree21]

I would think $5 million could put in quite a few seats and amenities.

[uptowner]

There are news crews on site...... They have a drilling rig working also...

[Raintree21]

That was the ground breaking for the stadium according to WCNC. Crews from Atlanta-based consulting firm Mactec started work at 9:30am.

[Raintree21]

cityboi, on Sep 4 2007, 02:50 PM, said:

In the case of Greensboro it was a county land swap too. Greensboro's stadium was around $25 million.

A number of AAA ballparks across the country are costing around $45 million which is why I thought $30 million was kinda low. If the county land is worth about $15 million than that would average about right.

And WCNC also says in their article that the county is pitching in $8 million in addition to the Knights paying $35 million so that comes out to $43 million. I know some of that is roads and infrastructure improvements but it's still $13 million more than the $30 million figure.

[uptownliving]

Right now they are just doing soil testing on the site. The Knights will not be able to break ground on true construction until a lease agreement is signed with Meck Co sometime later this year.

[dubone]

Please do not reinforce the false perception that the county  is spending any money on the stadium itself.  All of that money is strictly going to infrastructure that is the responsibility of local goverment anyway, and either already part of the street plan for downtown or would have been needed to make that land  a park.  It goes to improving sidewalks and making one way roads into normal two way streets.  It is simply prioritized now because it is needed sooner now with all the projects.

[Raintree21]

Raintree21, on Sep 6 2007, 10:31 AM, said:

That was the ground breaking for the stadium according to WCNC. Crews from Atlanta-based consulting firm Mactec started work at 9:30am.

WCNC has changed their story to say it's just soil sampling however they are still saying that the county is helping finance the stadium. I know that they are not paying for the stadium, just the infrastructure that was needed anyways, but that's what they are reporting.

Edited by Raintree21, 06 September 2007 - 02:39 PM.

[dubone]

I actually would prefer we didn't refer to the TV news stories.  Frankly, UP posters know far more detail and report far more factually than those stories.  It always feels like those are stories auto-generated from a template, with slanted and misleading facts to meet the pre-determined perceptions of the archtypical white-flight family in the suburbs.  It gets mighty old.

It is blatantly false that the county is funding the stadium.  The county might be subsidizing the land or the county might be supporting the stadium by building sidewalks for county tax payers that show up at the games (as well as to the county park and the football stadium and to the train station and the federal courthouse and the countless other projects that are going on in this area generating far more tax revenue than these sidewalks and lane-paint will cost).     But it would take far more difficulty to explain the nuances to the idiots that read their teleprompters on air, let alone take away from precious commercial time by actually explaining those nuances on air.  

This is the 21st century, where we can bypass that very inefficient and often invalid source of old news by going straight to the blogosphere.   This is now the third or fourth time in recent memory the facts that have already been established on UP have been tainted by false reporting by TV 'news'.  Let's just skip that process.    

Just my opinion, but I boycott those jokers for a reason, and I hate to see their stupidity bleed onto this board.

The county isn't funding this stadium, they are simply forgoing rent on the land in order to make the project happen, yielding higher tax proceeds from the increase in value for the whole area.  

Can you imagine if WCNC sat at one of the banks and tried to report on a business deal in ultra-dumbed down black and white terms?      "Today, WCNC has uncovered a scandal at a local bank uptown.  Our sources have revealed that the bank has not paid as much interest to their customers as they make on the money in the account.  The bank has used other investments to create what organized crime circles term 'profits'.  These 'profits' have bilked YOU, their customers, out of BILLIONS of dollars in interest."  

Back to the original point, I'm sure that WCNC doesn't even know that the county will pay back the $8m for the streets and sidewalks with tax money collected from the Knights on land that doesn't get any tax revenue right now.   I bet other reports from WCNC have centered on how streets are under-funded in Charlotte.  I guess this doesn't count, because it is spent downtown, where people are actually doing something with their lives at dinner time, so they aren't part of WCNC viewership.

[uptownliving]

The Rezoning goes before the City Council on Monday. There will be a public hearing that night so anyone that wants to speak out on the Knights Baseball Stadium...this is your chance. The City Planning Staff has already put their stamp of approval on the latest site plan.  They are requesting that the Planning Commision review and vote on the rezoning that night and they are also requesting City Council to vote on the Rezoning Monday night. Typically the vote is held a month after the hearing on a rezoning...not the same night.

I think the latest site plan for the stadium is one that I can support and is definately better than the first site plan with the diagonal parking on MLK. Suprisingly not a single person showed up for the Community Meeting for this rezoning.

I suspect that the City Council will approve this rezoning...however if they don't this would be a roadblock for the stadium being built at that site.

[uptownliving]

This project really seems to be on cruise control at this point. The Rezoning Hearing was held tonight and there was no one signed up to speak in opposition to the baseball park site plan. The Planning Commision put this request on the fast track and heard this rezoning tonight. They voted to approve it. Originally the City Council was also set to vote on this rezoning tonight, however it was delayed a week so they could work out some storm water detention issues with the site. I suspect those stormwater issues are a result of the Knights wanting the feild to be below street level and the drainage problems that creates.

[uptownliving]

For those keeping track the Rezoning for the Baseball Stadium was unanimously approved by City Council earlier this week. Next step will be a Lease Agreement between the Knights and Meck County which will allow the Knights to begin construction. I believe that will be coming before the County Commission sometime in the next month.

The question mark that still remains is the lawsuit against the County by Jerry Reese.

[Raintree21]

Mecklenburg Superior Court Judge Lindsay Davis threw out Jerry Reese's lawsuit yesterday. One less thing for the Knights to worry about now.

[grodney]

uptownliving, on Sep 28 2007, 11:53 PM, said:

Next step will be a Lease Agreement between the Knights and Meck County which will allow the Knights to begin construction. I believe that will be coming before the County Commission sometime in the next month.

Any update on this?  Thanks.