cbussoccer

My point was that there isn't really much similarity between the two at all. Not to say TQL isn't a good looking stadium, because it is (in my opinion).

I agree that they need to play around a bit with the prices. It's logical to see an increase in prices after a $300m stadium is built, but I think they are a bit too high right now for the average regular season game. I would also like to see them do some sort of a student rush deal like the Blue Jackets do. Have a couple hundred tickets available for like $15 a piece for anyone with a high school or college. Get that age group hooked and then when they graduate and have a bit of disposable income they can invest in partial or full season ticket plans.

I actually think we will get to the point of selling out nearly every game, as long as the team is halfway decent. We are just in an awkward transition phase where ticket prices are increases and we are dealing with a bit of turnover in the paying customer base. There are certainly people who used to attend the majority of home games at the old stadium but can no longer afford to do that at the new stadium. On the flip side, there are people like you who never attended at the stadium, but who are more than willing to attend most games at the new stadium because of the improved game day experience. It will probably just take the rest of the season for more and more people to discover it and buy in. The next two home games are Wednesday night games against opponents who are not big names, so I would expect attendance in the 16-17k range. But after that, I would expect to be around 19-20k for every game for the rest of the season. If we can make the playoffs and then keep the excitement up going in to next season, I don't think it's crazy to expect to sellout out every game next year, or at least every weekend game.

Can I be friends with your friend too? Lol Out of curiosity, how often did you attend Crew games at the old stadium? I’ve seen a lot of people saying they never really went before but now they are hooked. I will note that last night was about 1k short of a sellout. While that is disappointing, it’s important to keep in mind that the cheapest tickets available last night would have been among the most expensive in the old stadium.

That's a bold statement... Tottenham Hotspur Stadium: TQL Stadium: Seriously though, I can't wait until we can move past the comparison stage of these stadium openings. I've said it before, but each team has a beautiful new stadium to be proud of, yet each is very unique from the other. They are both the envy of just about every other team in the league (and all of North America) and have really raised the bar for new soccer stadiums in this country.

It was pretty crazy to hear how loud the Crew fans were after both of their goals. I was watching on TV and it sounded like I was watching a Premier League game where the travel support often numbers in the range of 5-10k due to the close proximity of teams. I also heard the Crew fans very clearly chanting and singing on the broadcast on numerous occasions. I'm not at all surprised though as I Crew-FCC game at Nippert in 2019 and the Crew support was insane. Also, Zelarayan's goal was insane, and he very nearly had a second goal that was equally impressive. The guy can completely change the entire game for us, as he did in this game and as he did in the MLS Cup final. I also love that he's not afraid to do the dirty work and get into a tackle. Such an amazing player.

It’s been at least a month since I’ve made a tour de Columbus, but I’m thinking we are sitting at 20 now that the Westminster-Thurber crane is up.

Honest question for you @GCrites80s. Have you spent much time in any of these sunbelt boomtowns with mediocre rail transit running through miles and miles suburban areas? I've spent time in these cities, and the rail transit is hardly noticeable or widely used by the residents. It's nothing close to riding the train in a place like Chicago, NYC, DC, etc. It's something that some people use commute to and from work, but that's about it. Aside from that, it's rarely used in everyday life for most of the residents. The bus systems are often more useful than the trains.

I'm not sure anyone here is obsessed with Austin. I'm certainly not. The two are often compared though. Both are state capitols which have long been overshadowed by other cities in their own state. Both have been growing rapidly for a few decades now. They are two of the largest cities in the country without a "BIg 3" sport. Both are home to massive universities, and each university has a massive athletics department with football and basketball teams who's popularity rivals the NFL and NBA teams in some cities. Both have a relatively young population, which is influenced by the massive university located in each city. I could go on and on, but they are very similar cities for their respective regions.

That's very much a fad. And it's a fad built on the fad of Austin being the weird hipster city that flies under the radar and does its own thing. Austin failed to "keep Austin weird", and is now just a popular stopping point for the tech bros working their way up the corporate ladder. Those same tech bros moved out to the Bay Area, now they've moved to Austin, and we'll see where they move next. And yes there's a ton of construction occurring. Nobody here is denying that. We are criticizing the type of construction.

The reductionist skyline argument is just so tiresome. Yes, Austin has a lot of tall, modern towers built within the last decade which look decent from a distance. But guess what. The street level experience where all those towers are is laughable. Furthermore, Austin's skyline, while having some decent volume now, isn't really all that unique. If you photoshopped a few palm trees into an Austin skyline picture, it could easily be confused with Tampa or a section of Miami's skyline. It's just a bunch of cookie-cutter modern condo towers. Just look at these street view images of Austin and Columbus. Most of Austin's taller towers are indistinguishable from a condo tower you'd see in Miami, Tampa, Houston, etc; whereas none of the taller towers in Columbus are going to be easily confused with any other city. Additionally, tall buildings often do not do much to increase the actual quality of the neighborhood on the ground. Especially with the way towers are often built now. Just look at the most popular district of most any city and you'll see that it rarely has any of the taller buildings in that city. The Short North is the most popular part of "urban Columbus", yet it's tallest buildings don't exceed 12 stories. Similarly, OTR is the most popular section of Cincinnati and it has less height than the Short North. The Magnificent Mile, probably the most popular tourist area of Chicago, is lined with many buildings that are no taller than 20 taller stories, some only rising 4-5 stories. Many of the more popular neighborhoods for Chicago residents are very much like the Short North or OTR, with buildings only rising 12 stories at most. Go to NYC and you'll find the most pleasant neighborhoods to walk through are often lined with buildings only rising about 12-15 stories. I could go on and on, but you get the picture. Columbus doesn't need to worry about building more 500'+ towers in order to improve its image nationally. It needs to focus on continuing to do what it's already doing. Beef up the residential numbers in the core of the city. Improve the pedestrian and residential experience in the CBD. Make Franklinton a livable neighborhood and connect it to the other side of the river. Improve public transportation and reduce the need for cars for those that want to live a classic urban lifestyle. Overall, focus giving its residents the best possible quality of life, rather than focusing on what an Austin Nashville fanboy thinks of it. I actually feel that cities like Columbus and Indy have a much better long-term sustainability than boom towns like Nashville and Austin. The former are focused on building with their residents in mind, while the latter are focused on building with current day fads in mind. What happens to Nashville when a shakeup in the music industry occurs? Eventually Brides-to-be will decide to have their bachelorette parties elsewhere. Eventually Austin won't be so weird and the indy music scene will move somewhere else. Eventually the tech startups will find a new fast growing and cheaper city to move to. At that point, those cities will be left with a bunch of cheaply built condo towers (that were mostly used as AirBnBs to begin with) sitting largely empty, while Columbus and Indianapolis will have smartly built urban neighborhoods continuing to thrive. So, to wrap up this long-winded comment, I feel that cities like Columbus and Indianapolis should continue to do what they are doing. Build smart with the future in mind. It's worked so far and it will likely continue to work in the future. Cities like Austin and Nashville can continue to cash in on their fad status. Maybe it will continue in the long-term, maybe it won't. If it does, great for them. But if it doesn't, I hate to say I told you so but....

Here's a view of the new Westminster-Thurber crane on the left and the Hilton crane on the left, from the LDC construction cam which, for some reason, is still live.

Here's a few pics I grabbed from Twitter of the (mostly) finished product. It was also cool to see Nationwide Blvd filled with Crew fans before and after the game.

Does anyone know the total number of residential units built or under construction in Jeffrey Park?

It looks like the tower will be 145' tall and the crane will be 225' tall. https://oeaaa.faa.gov/oeaaa/external/searchAction.jsp?action=displayOECase&oeCaseID=486752843&row=256 https://oeaaa.faa.gov/oeaaa/external/searchAction.jsp?action=displayOECase&oeCaseID=486753964&row=257

I noticed that on the broadcast too. It was awesome. It was like a picture frame of the skyline.

I posted this article from The Dispatch in the Arena District thread, but it has some good Astor Park related info as well. https://www.dispatch.com/story/business/2021/07/02/arena-district-office-and-residential-development-far-done/7795014002/ In the article, Brian Ellis confirms that the lots directly across Nationwide Blvd from the stadium will be redeveloped by NRI, but no specifics are given. Pizzuti also confirms that the lot to the north of the stadium will be developed by them in the future, and will most likely contain a residential component, but they want to "let the neighborhood mature" before deciding which direction to go.

This article from The Dispatch today has some good info on both the AD and Astor Park. I'll comment about some of the Astor Park info in that thread. https://www.dispatch.com/story/business/2021/07/02/arena-district-office-and-residential-development-far-done/7795014002/ The Arena District's primary developer, Nationwide Realty Investors, owns several vacant lots it plans to develop in the district, starting with a thin lot next to the new Chipotle headquarters at the northeast corner of Vine Street and Neil Avenue. Nationwide Realty plans to start a 150-unit apartment building along the stretch after some major power lines are removed from the site, said Nationwide Realty President Brian Ellis. Nationwide Realty also owns a 1½-acre site at the northwest corner of West Spring and Hanover streets that Ellis expects to one day develop into a high-rise akin to the Condominiums at North Bank Park and Parks Edge condominiums down the street. "We hope to have a mix of offices and residential here," he said while touring the district recently. "It could be big." I know we've talked about that lot at the corner of Spring and Hanover being perfect for a high-rise, and it sounds like NRI agrees and is planning just that. Once the first phase of Astor Park gets off the ground, I would imagine that high-rise wouldn't be too far off. The article also talks about the constraints on developing the railroad triangle. Savko seems confident that it will be developed in some way, but we will see. I still contend that some type of a park would be a good option there.

Air Canada is bringing back their Columbus-Toronto flight today. For right now, it will just operate once daily. When you look at which flights to the US Air Canada is now flying, it's kind of surprising that Columbus is on the list. Aside from Columbus, the only other airports they are flying to in the US are large, mostly hub airports.

The team had an open practice for season ticket holders last night. I'm assuming that's what you saw. I think they might have one more tonight, but I'm not sure.

This video is pretty great.

This is just so weird.

You nailed it. The old stadium actually provided negative incentive for non-fans or casual fans to attend games. The parking, or really ingress/egress, was an absolute disaster. There was absolutely nothing to do around the stadium before or after the game, except for tailgating. There's nothing wrong with tailgating, but it's not for everyone. It requires effort and planning ahead. A lot of people would much rather hang out at a bar before and/or after the game like you do for a CBJ or Clippers game. Once you actually got into the stadium, the facilities were inadequate in almost every way. It wasn't anywhere the modern day standard of a professional stadium, or even a mid-sized college stadium, or a minor league baseball stadium. It was as bare bones as you can possibly get, and it was completely lacking in any sort of legitimate luxury/club level accomodations. The stadium was such that, aside from the hardcore fans, most people weren't very keen on attending more than one or two games each year at the absolute most. The new stadium is a destination. You can actually plan an entire night out around the game similar to going to a CBJ or Clippers game, unlike at the old stadium. The stadium has everything you would expect from a modern stadium, and then some. Its luxury/club level spaces are amazing and, based on what I've seen in pictures and videos, are quite a bit better than every other sports venue in the city. Similar to how Huntington Park brings in people who don't care one bit about baseball, or how Nationwide Arena will bring in people who really don't follow hockey, this stadium is going to bring in tons of casual fans and non-fans. So yea, attendance was rough because the stadium was lacking in pretty much everything and the FO barely marketed the product, not because the colors are somewhat similar to teams in Pittsburgh that play completely different sports.

Seeing how much progress is being made on the Scioto Peninsula, I've started wondering when we might start hearing about plans for the next phase. I would love to see this progress like the Bridge Street project in Dublin has where they seamlessly move from one phase to the next.

If you struggle to cheer for a team because a team you like from a different city doesn't like another team from another city who shares similar colors with the team in your own city that you are struggling to root for, you have some incredibly bizarre priorities and I feel sorry for you.