Deliberately using sports venues as "locomotives to create a sense of place and destination in a no-mans land" is "revolutionary thinking," says Marc Salette, a partner in Gehry Partners, Los Angeles, master planner and architect for a proposed $2.5-billion, mixed-use arena village in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Others agree. The sports village is "absolutely fabulous news" for smart growth, transit-oriented development, urban renewal and delivery of public services and infrastructure, says Peter Hall, president of San Diegos wholly owned Center City Development Corp. CCDC is a partner in a baseball village anchored by the Padres $452.6-million PETCO Park, opening April 8 (see p. 26).