Lansing Stadium District development

[RustTown]

A new concept is coming to the former Oldsmobile Park (now Cooley Law School Stadium).  It'll include building a four or five story apartment building above the outfield and have a restaurant or two on the first floor.  This is part of a larger plan to renovate the stadium.

Quote

 

Living above the outfield: Lansing Lugnuts' stadium renovation plan includes apartments, restaurants

 

by Mellisa Anders / MLive.com

 

March 12, 2014

 

LANSING — The Lansing Lugnuts' ballpark could undergo a major publicly funded renovation under plans that involve private developers adding 80 apartment units and a restaurant adjacent to the outfield.

 

Minor league baseball fans could catch games from their own patios if they rent apartments proposed for the area immediately north of the city-owned Cooley Law School Stadium.

 

[RustTown]

New renderings have been released for The Outfield.  The renovations to the ballpark and the foundation work for the apartments started a few months ago:

 

 

http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/money/business/2014/12/17/state-invest-outfield-project-lansing/20551307/

 

From October 22nd:

 

Lansing Downtown

Edited December 18, 2014 by Lmichigan

[RustTown]

Renovations to the stadium are nearly complete, which will then allow for the apartments to be built.

 

Lindsay VanHulle {sodEmoji.|} Lansing State Journal

 

Lindsay VanHulle {sodEmoji.|} Lansing State Journal

 

Lindsay VanHulle {sodEmoji.|} Lansing State Journal

 

Rod Sanford{sodEmoji.|} Lansing State Journal

 

The construction of the Outfield apartments is set to begin later this month.

Edited April 9, 2015 by Lmichigan

[RustTown]

Construction has started on the Outfield Apartments, and the LSJ has released some updated renderings:

 

 

 

 

Scheduled completion is by next April, and there will be 84 units, 6 of which they call "micro-units," which I guess it's just a glorified new spin on studio or efficiency apartments. lol  The fan concourse beneath the apartments will be ready by June.

[RustTown]

From Downtown Lansing, Inc.'s facebook page:

 

May 8:

 

[RustTown]

View from the third floor (June 4th):

 

Gillespie Group via Facebook

[RustTown]

Another update from the Gillespie Group's facebook page:

 

 

Edited August 19, 2015 by Lmichigan

[MJLO]

I was in Lansing over the weekend and saw these going up I was pretty impressed.

[RustTown]

Done.

$11M Outfield Apartments open in Lansing Lugnuts stadium

[RustTown]

Looks like Lansing Ignite won their first home match.

They bit Richmond away, too.  They were kind of worried about the weather for ticket sales, but it looks like a decent turnout all things considered.

 

[RustTown]

More from the LSJ:

Couch: Lansing Ignite's home debut shows, for fans, soccer in a baseball stadium can work

 

Quote

 

LANSING – I walked into Cooley Law School Stadium on Saturday night hopeful that Lansing Ignite soccer could become a thing in this community. I walked out a couple hours later sure it could happen.

Not sure it will. But the ingredients are there. The experience is there to be had. This baseball stadium isn’t perfect for this. But it works.

“It’s cool the way they did it,” I overheard one woman say, as she walked by on the concourse before Ignite’s 3-1 win over Richmond in its home debut, in front of an announced crowd of 3,369.

It is cool. There are bad seats, no doubt. The best seats for baseball, behind home plate, are the worst for soccer. You’re too removed from the action. But just about everywhere else is a decent, good or great spot to sit or stand and absorb the game.

 

I'm still really skeptical after seeing pictures of the entire empty space behind home plate.  People crowded two the sides, understandably.  I still really think they should have started out at the Hope Soccer Complex.  Professional soccer can work here; the turnout shows an interest that could grow, but the ballpark is a horrible set-up if even a great venue from the perspective of being right downtown and fans going out before and after the game. 

In my opinion, the best outcome would be for a purpose-built stadium to be built a block to the north (north of Shiawassee).  Olsdmobile Park shows that a stadium can work between Cedar and Larch for baseball as confined as it is, and soccer would need even less space so it'd be a perfect fit.

[RustTown]

Ha!  I was wondering what the noise was. lol

 

[The ATX]

I like your new User name.    I  missed this one.  It turned out pretty cool.  

[RustTown]

Great season so far:

https://twitter.com/lansingignite/status/1162537853861158913

[RustTown]

 

 

[RustTown]

Rotary Park a block from the stadium has opened:

Rotary Park opens with plaza, artificial beach near Lansing's Grand River downtown

 

Quote

 

LANSING — A recreation area complete with a lighted forest, a fireplace and a sandy artificial beach has opened downtown along the eastern bank of the Grand River.

Rotary Park, a $1.8 million project constructed using private donations, is free for the public to access from dawn to dusk near the site of the Lansing City Market building.

The beach features trucked-in sand and does not touch the water. A seawall will discourage visitors from swimming in the Grand River. 

The city of Lansing will help maintain the park, which includes a plaza with tables and umbrellas.