So I was at the presentation this morning. A few points:

 

1. They will return in the future with signage and lighting to review. So assume that there will be tons of branding elements that are not present in these renderings.

2. There was significant discussion of materials at the presentation.

3. The renderings are some of the best quality I've ever seen so...¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Edited September 24, 20195 yr by mbeaumont76

This is really, really exciting!

7 hours ago, DTCL11 said:

It looks good but I'm not sure I would have called it space ship like.... or whatever the quote was. My interpretation of that was much different than the final lol. 

Agreed, I like it. But it's not star wars. 

3 hours ago, mbeaumont76 said:

So I was at the presentation this morning. A few points:

 

1. They will return in the future with signage and lighting to review. So assume that there will be tons of branding elements that are not present in these renderings.

2. There was significant discussion of materials at the presentation.

3. The renderings are some of the best quality I've ever seen so...¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

Can you expand on the materials discussion? I only ask because anything fiber cement that goes up in this city ends up looking like wavy garbage. So as long as it's not that, then I'm on board. 

 

I also love the idea of the bar being open on non-game days. It's easy for stadiums to seem abandoned the majority of the year, but I could see that place being popular before events at the other arenas or as a great place to watch soccer games from around the league/world. I think it has a ton of potential to make the place feel active even when the Crew aren't playing. 

16 hours ago, 17thState said:

 

Can you expand on the materials discussion? I only ask because anything fiber cement that goes up in this city ends up looking like wavy garbage. So as long as it's not that, then I'm on board. 

There were a number of other slides that focused on materials, this was the only one I got a shot of though:
 

Edited September 25, 20195 yr by mbeaumont76

Along with the nice stadium we will be getting, I am so glad that this area will be known as Confluence Village and not the horrible "Pen West".

1 minute ago, Toddguy said:

Along with the nice stadium we will be getting, I am so glad that this area will be known as Confluence Village and not the horrible "Pen West".

Tbh, I kinda like Pen West better. It sounds more authentic. Confluence Village sounds like a shopping center or gated community.

Heh heh, haven't hear "Pen West" in a while.

5 minutes ago, mbeaumont76 said:

Tbh, I kinda like Pen West better. It sounds more authentic. Confluence Village sounds like a shopping center or gated community.

I DESPISE! the name Pen West.  I guess it just is me...but I would take almost anything over Pen West. Arena West maybe? Just anything but Pen West-which makes me think of a cattle pen or something rather than the thankfully gone penitentiary, which is bad enough on it's own(a chamber of horrors where the third or fourth deadliest building fire in US history happened back around 1930 among other things)-good riddance to any mention of it.  That is one piece of Columbus history that does not need to be embraced or even mentioned or remembered except for perhaps a memorial to the victims of the fire. Nearly all of those who died (over 300 people) were in there for relatively minor offenses (as opposed to major violent crimes) as well.

Edited September 25, 20195 yr by Toddguy

Weirdly enough, with all the stadium related things, what I'm most curious about is the 5 (what appear to be) glass sections on the southern roof sections.

Why I'm focused on this? Not sure, its weird but they just seem so curious to me in shape and placement. I can't come up with a reason for them and they are just so prominent in the renders. 

 

 

Did they touch on this at all in the meeting? or does anyone have a guess?

 

 

1 minute ago, Toddguy said:

I DESPISE! the name Pen West.  I guess it just is me...but I would take almost anything over Pen West. Arena West maybe? Just anything but Pen West-which makes me think of a cattle pen or something rather than the thankfully gone penitentiary, which is bad enough on it's own(a chamber of horrors where the third or fourth deadliest building fire in US history happened back around 1930 among other things)-good riddance to any mention of it.  That is one piece of Columbus history that does not need to be embraced or even mentioned or remembered except for perhaps a memorial to the victims of the fire. Nearly all of those who died (over 300 people) were in there for relatively minor offenses as well.

I hear ya. I definitely don't think the penitentiary needs to be eulogized in any way, haha.

6 minutes ago, GCrites80s said:

Heh heh, haven't hear "Pen West" in a while.

Me either until I saw it mentioned in the comments on Columbus Underground. I don't comment there anymore(my name was WJT over there) because I do not want to have to keep identifying street lights, etc. again and again to try to sign in to it.

2 minutes ago, DevolsDance said:

Weirdly enough, with all the stadium related things, what I'm most curious about is the 5 (what appear to be) glass sections on the southern roof sections.

Why I'm focused on this? Not sure, its weird but they just seem so curious to me in shape and placement. I can't come up with a reason for them and they are just so prominent in the renders. 

 

 

Did they touch on this at all in the meeting? or does anyone have a guess?

 

 

Oddly, I don't remember it being discussed at all, but I may have missed it. 

Aerial photo of the new stadium site taken today.

 

^They didn't waste any time demolishing the buildings on the site!

Here's what to expect at the Columbus Crew's stadium groundbreaking next week

 

 

Columbus Crew SC has released new details about what fans and community members can expect at the Oct. 10 groundbreaking for its new $233 million stadium.

 

The event is open to the public and will take place at 650 W. Nationwide Boulevard. Speakers will include Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber, new team owners Dee Haslam and Pete Edwards and Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther.

 

Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Hosted and Franklin County Commissioner Marilyn Brown will also speak at the event, which will be emceed by former Crew player Kyle Martino.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2019/10/03/heres-what-to-expect-at-thecolumbus-crews-stadium.html

I was downtown this evening and it looks like they have new Crew branding up on the Municipal Light smokestack. Wasn’t able to get a picture of it sadly. It really stands out all the way from the Broad Street bridge

7 minutes ago, CBUS_Res said:

I was downtown this evening and it looks like they have new Crew branding up on the Municipal Light smokestack. Wasn’t able to get a picture of it sadly. It really stands out all the way from the Broad Street bridge

 

That went up Saturday. It looks awesome. 

 

https://mobile.twitter.com/columbuscrewsc/status/1181354687905325058

13 minutes ago, cbussoccer said:

 

That went up Saturday. It looks awesome. 

 

https://mobile.twitter.com/columbuscrewsc/status/1181354687905325058

Agreed. They had it all lit up and it was eye catching for sure

While I get the benefits of using banners, I think they look rather cheap and offputting IMO. Sort of like the Smith Brothers Water Tower. It hasn't looked any better since they switched from a painted logo to the banner logo. 

 

Hopefully they move to a more permanent, painted, display. 

2 minutes ago, DTCL11 said:

While I get the benefits of using banners, I think they look rather cheap and offputting IMO. Sort of like the Smith Brothers Water Tower. It hasn't looked any better since they switched from a painted logo to the banner logo. 

 

Hopefully they move to a more permanent, painted, display. 

 

I believe this is just temporary for the groundbreaking and probably throughout construction. If you look at the renderings of the stadium, you will see what appears to be permanent yellow letters spelling Columbus on the smoke stack. 

 

We have a stage

 

I'm not sure if it belongs here or in the Short North thread but I think I saw something in the SN referring to a 'new stadium experience center' ? I may have missed it or misinterpreted it. Although it might now be bad to have a combination sports store in the SN to promote all our teams some day. ?

10 hours ago, DTCL11 said:

I'm not sure if it belongs here or in the Short North thread but I think I saw something in the SN referring to a 'new stadium experience center' ? I may have missed it or misinterpreted it. Although it might now be bad to have a combination sports store in the SN to promote all our teams some day. ?

 

Yep - it's going in the new building that replaced Grandview Mercantile at 1st & High:

 

 

14 minutes ago, .justin said:

 

Yep - it's going in the new building that replaced Grandview Mercantile at 1st & High:

 

 

 

As far as I know, this will just be a temporary location as the stadium is being built. You will be able to go in to get info on the stadium, sign  up for season tickets, etc.

 

I would love to see them maintain a team store in the Short North though. Going along with what @DTCL11 said, it would probably work better if they were able do something like teaming up with the Blue Jackets to share a space where they could sell officially licensed gear. 

2 hours ago, cbussoccer said:

 

I would love to see them maintain a team store in the Short North though. Going along with what @DTCL11 said, it would probably work better if they were able do something like teaming up with the Blue Jackets to share a space where they could sell officially licensed gear. 

 

And I'd add the Clippers while we are at it ?

 

And having those extensions of the team's in one of the most heavily trafficked areas of the region may help with general support of the teams. 

Full page ad in today's Dispatch:

 

And a really nice front page profile in today's Dispatch of Dee Haslam - wife of Jimmy Haslam - who has become the leading voice of the new Crew ownership:

 

https://www.thisweeknews.com/sports/20191010/as-team-breaks-ground-on-stadium-today-dee-haslam-says-it-was-just-honor-to-help-save-it-for-columbus

 

And official confirmation (at last) of the Crew/Haslam Sports Group purchasing the stadium property from Nationwide Realty Investors(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

 

https://www.thisweeknews.com/sports/20191010/haslam-sports-group-crew-agree-to-purchase-of-land-for-downtown-stadium

And the ownership group has pledged another $70mil among contentions over how much Columbus will actually spend on the stadium. 

 

www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2019/10/10/crew-ownership-group-pledges-another-70-million.amp.html

Crew and Nationwide say stadium land deal to close 'by the end of the month'

 

Hours before Columbus Crew SC officials are due to break ground on a new $300 million Arena District stadium, the team and Nationwide Realty Investors Ltd. are aiming to quell any concerns about the impending sale of the land where the stadium will sit.

 

The Crew and Nationwide Realty released a joint statement Thursday morning stating the sale will close by the end of the month.

 

Here's the full statement:

 

Columbus Crew SC and Nationwide Realty Investors are pleased to share that, as anticipated, all contract contingencies have been waived and the pending purchase of the land will close by the end of the month. Crew SC continues to have full access to the site, and remains on schedule for a summer 2021 opening in the new Arena District stadium.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2019/10/10/crew-and-nationwide-say-stadium-land-deal-to-close.html

 

Hopefully NRI will use that 25.7 mil to actually move forward with the development of the many acres of land it owns downtown or in Franklinton rather than continuing to sit on it....

Columbus Crew to pay $25.7M for stadium land

 

 

Finally, a sale.

 

A Columbus Crew SC spokesman said Thursday the team will pay Nationwide Realty Investors Ltd. $25.7 million for the land where the $300 million Arena District soccer stadium will sit.

 

Thursday morning, hours before the groundbreaking was scheduled to begin, the team and Nationwide announced the long-awaited deal would close "by the end of the month."

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2019/10/10/columbus-crew-to-pay-25-7m-for-stadium-land.html

Well, with a $27M cash infusion, I now absolutely demand/expect NRI give us a tower for Parks Edge III! 

 

One can dream, right?

56 minutes ago, DevolsDance said:

Well, with a $27M cash infusion, I now absolutely demand/expect NRI give us a tower for Parks Edge III! 

 

One can dream, right?

Yeah...the lower 12 floors which would have blocked views could mostly face out onto the commons there(east) and then above that great views all around. But is NRI too conservative for this? We shall see. I still expect a brick box on that spot to match the majority of the Arena District(would be happy to be wrong though).

 

*Or hell, to invest the money into building up some of the surface lots/one story buildings still to the west in the "Arena West" area(between Neil and the tracks)?

Edited October 10, 20195 yr by Toddguy

Columbus Crew breaks ground on new $300M Arena District stadium

 

Thursday’s ceremonial groundbreaking for Columbus Crew SC’s new $300 million Arena District stadium was as much about the team’s once uncertain past as it was about building excitement in the future.

 

"It has been a long, hard road to get here today,” Dee Haslam, part of the team's new ownership group, told the a crowd of thousands of Crew fans decked out in the team’s signature yellow and black who showed up in the middle of the afternoon at 650 Nationwide Blvd., the future site of the stadium that is now mostly gravel and dirt.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2019/10/10/slideshow-columbus-crew-breaks-ground-on-new-300m.html

Construction cam for the new stadium: https://www.crewstadium.com/#construction-cam

17 hours ago, Toddguy said:

Yeah...the lower 12 floors which would have blocked views could mostly face out onto the commons there(east) and then above that great views all around. But is NRI too conservative for this? We shall see. I still expect a brick box on that spot to match the majority of the Arena District(would be happy to be wrong though).

 

*Or hell, to invest the money into building up some of the surface lots/one story buildings still to the west in the "Arena West" area(between Neil and the tracks)?

 

The fact that NRI was pushing to have all of Confluence Village be the same brick box design as the rest of the AD strongly suggests they have no interest to branch out architecturally in the neighborhood.  I suspect that last plot is going to have something underwhelming.

7 minutes ago, jonoh81 said:

 

The fact that NRI was pushing to have all of Confluence Village be the same brick box design as the rest of the AD strongly suggests they have no interest to branch out architecturally in the neighborhood.  I suspect that last plot is going to have something underwhelming.

 

I understand the desire to have inspiring architecture, but I will say that some of the coolest places I've been in the world have large swaths of uniform architecture.  Granted, the uniformity is only attractive if the base style is; but I do like the AD and wouldn't mind seeing it extend through that whole area.

9 minutes ago, jonoh81 said:

 

The fact that NRI was pushing to have all of Confluence Village be the same brick box design as the rest of the AD strongly suggests they have no interest to branch out architecturally in the neighborhood.  I suspect that last plot is going to have something underwhelming.

 

Or, on the contrary, having the new Crew Stadium look completely different than everything else in the AD could potentially break NRI out of their brick box design for the remaining areas of the neighborhood. 

 

In terms of the last remaining lot behind Park's Edge, I could see it going either direction. I really wouldn't mind if they mirror the the 7-story buildings for the sake of symmetry, but I would love something tall and all glass.

23 minutes ago, ck said:

 

I understand the desire to have inspiring architecture, but I will say that some of the coolest places I've been in the world have large swaths of uniform architecture.  Granted, the uniformity is only attractive if the base style is; but I do like the AD and wouldn't mind seeing it extend through that whole area.

 

CV is part of the AD, but the railroad tracks mark a clear separation, so it's a chance to do something different there.  There's nothing wrong with brick, but I don't understand the desire for conformity in every development.  This is not a historical neighborhood, it's a blank slate.  There is no reason to keep doing the same thing over and over again.

24 minutes ago, cbussoccer said:

 

Or, on the contrary, having the new Crew Stadium look completely different than everything else in the AD could potentially break NRI out of their brick box design for the remaining areas of the neighborhood. 

 

In terms of the last remaining lot behind Park's Edge, I could see it going either direction. I really wouldn't mind if they mirror the the 7-story buildings for the sake of symmetry, but I would love something tall and all glass.

 

I expect that the Chipotle lots will be similar to the rest of the AD, so we're already probably going to get more of the same.  I just want to see some variety.  

Maybe NRI can shake things up with some EIFS

1 hour ago, GCrites80s said:

Maybe NRI can shake things up with some EIFS

Go for it and make it highrise-Grenfell Tower 2!  Why should Europe/Asia/Middle East get all the good highrise fires, right? 

 

That last plot of land will get an 8 story brick box. Still better than a dead pen, and good enough for Columbus, right?  

 

/sarcasm

4 hours ago, cbussoccer said:

Construction cam for the new stadium: https://www.crewstadium.com/#construction-cam

https://webcampub.multivista.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=aPublicWebcam.embed&WebcamPublicEmbedUID=5C97B5EA-6427-4DDD-B6A5-E1C0D91D4D57&HLS=1

 

There's a direct link. Crazy that they're going full bore the day after groundbreaking!

27 minutes ago, aderwent said:

https://webcampub.multivista.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=aPublicWebcam.embed&WebcamPublicEmbedUID=5C97B5EA-6427-4DDD-B6A5-E1C0D91D4D57&HLS=1

 

There's a direct link. Crazy that they're going full bore the day after groundbreaking!

 

WE DON'T - WE DON'T - WE DON'T MESS AROUND - HEY!  (that's an old radio show sports reference that I wonder how many will get!)

 

But seriously, that is great to see them moving so fast on this stadium work. ?️?⚽

32 minutes ago, aderwent said:

https://webcampub.multivista.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=aPublicWebcam.embed&WebcamPublicEmbedUID=5C97B5EA-6427-4DDD-B6A5-E1C0D91D4D57&HLS=1

 

There's a direct link. Crazy that they're going full bore the day after groundbreaking!

 

Well they are on a pretty tight deadline. The summer of 2021 will be here before we know it!

An interesting plot twist to add to the disgruntlement of more citizens. It seems the Ginther administration had more to hide than just 'infrastructure' spending. I'm curious how this will affect city council elections with this news being tailwinds behind the Yes We Can candidates. I'm not exactly happy about it either. Especially as so much of this was back door wheeling and dealing that the city seems to have wanted to keep under wraps as long as possible. 

 

It also makes me even more curious about what kind of contract NRI and the Crew ended up with.

 

Quote

City officials originally had demanded affordable units in early versions of the contract with the Crew. But that requirement for roughly 177 new affordable units transformed into an “effort” to build 88, documents show.

The city never publicized the change, or that the number of non-construction, full-time jobs projected to be created had dropped from 1,500 jobs in the December memorandum of understanding to 775 in the final contract, a 48.3% drop.

Other jobs will be created but can’t be attributed directly to the development, so they are not included in the total, Stevens said, “because the Crew cannot commit to create jobs they do not control.”

The jobs directly related to the project include the equivalent of 580 permanent, full-time jobs at the new stadium, 70 at a new sports park and training facility adjacent to Mapfre Stadium on the north side of the Ohio Expo Center, and 125 at the mixed-use development at Confluence Village.

What was once billed as a commitment by the team’s owners to construct 270,000 square feet of new commercial space is now listed as 120,000 square feet of office space in the final contract signed by city officials in late September.

 

 

This is the gem though. [Summarized] 'We removed the requirement and made it a suggestion and we fully expect them to maintain the limits we want imposed without having any way to enforce it anymore.'

 

Quote

“It’s obvious that the affordable housing is important to the city, and we are going to make our best effort to include it in the project,” said Peter John-Baptiste, a spokesman for the Haslam Sports Group, the developer of Confluence Village.

“The city fully expects developers to maintain the affordable housing limits,” Ginther spokeswoman Robin Davis said in an email when asked by The Dispatch about the change.

 

And the dispatch seems to have uncovered documents that show that Ginther's talking point about the city money jumping to over $100mil is a lie and that it wasnt originally planned that way but was done under pressure from the Crew and Haslam group. 

 

Quote

But internal city documents obtained by The Dispatch show that as Crew SC pressed the the city to pay more than double its initial taxpayer contribution — from $50 million to $113.9 million for what Ginther says includes costs related to additional development around the stadium in the Arena District — the “Confluence Village” affordable-housing component and the projected jobs number were quietly reduced.

 

What I had hoped wasn't your typical stadium owners bullying cities seems to have been a bit too good to be true. 

 

IMO: Is it the worst deal in the world, no. Is the stadium worth it. Probably. Was the public mislead. Absolutely. I'm sure there will be plenty of people that shrug it off for the sake of saving the Crew but even beyond a stadium deal, it's bad urbanism to let developers to get away with such drastic reductions in mixed use promises. It appears the vibrant stadium village is going to be this much less vibrant. 

 

https://www.dispatch.com/news/20191031/strict-affordable-housing-requirements-dropped-from-crew-stadium-district-project

 

Edit. I forgot to put in the total number of housing unit change. ORIGINAL: 885 FINAL: 440

Edited November 1, 20195 yr by DTCL11

Welp, this is what happens when developers regulate the city council and not the other way around.