Nashville Ballpark Location Study An Encouraging Sign of Downtown Investment

In Davidson, Land Use
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Regardless of where a new minor league baseball stadium might be built in Nashville, there’s one sure winner— investment in downtown Nashville.

A Metro-commissioned report, undertaken by Kansas City-based Populous Inc., recently recommended three locations for a potential new minor league baseball stadium. The sites identified are: the east bank of the Cumberland, near LP Field and PSC Metals Inc., a sprawling metals scrap plant; an area northeast of the Tennessee State Capitol building that served as home to Sulphur Dell, Nashville’s long-demolished original baseball stadium; and the north Gulch area near 11th and Charlotte avenues. View the official Nashville Ballpark Site Evaluation Study, PDF.

While Sounds ownership and others seem to heavily favor the river location, all sites are encouraging signs for downtown Nashville. The city has done an excellent job over the past decade in attracting cultural, commercial and residential growth in the downtown area and a new ballpark will only add to that record. Downtown investment is a reverse of trends experienced in the 60s, 70s and 80s that saw development occur farther and farther away from the city core (note the current Sounds stadium location). However, over the past two decades cities all over the country are realizing the many benefits of investing back in downtown.

Whether at a small scale, such as a Main Street program, or large scale, like a new sports stadium, downtown investment helps to revitalize city cores, increase the tax base, use developed land instead of green open spaces and is cheaper for local governments to maintain and provide services. While the debate on semi-publicly financed projects such as this will continue, the clear winner if and when a site is selected will be downtown investment.

Story adapted from:
Nashville City Paper, December 1, 2011
“East bank site picks up steam for Sounds stadium following study’s release”

Images From: The Nashville Ballpark Site Evaluation Study, PDF.

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