One example of the sports ecosystem is the Little Caesars Arena in Downtown Detroit. The community around this arena has always been vibrant. Even though it has seen its share of ups and downs, including more challenging times recently than in the past, it remains spirited.
We are looking at how sports can be used to grow a city through economic and social development. We are looking to take some of the things that aren’t working so well and use these events and venues to spur something new.
Sports Management Investments to Improve Development
Sports facilities have a unique way of helping communities come together. Part of this is due to the development of property that, otherwise, might not have a significant impact on the community for decades to come. It may be in a Brownfields area or an opportunity zone that would never see the level of investment if not for these facilities. So what we see in this type of ecosystem is the community coming to the downtown corridor to watch live sports.
Around 20-30 years ago, sports facilities were developed in the suburbs. People would trek out there or to areas on the fringe of the urban population to watch the games. Now we are seeing sports being developed more in the urban core. Along with that, we see transit and modalities that would never have happened if it weren’t for these investments.
This is not to say that sports are solely responsible for this kind of rebuild. It’s just saying that they helped accelerate the local government’s investments in the community. Sports helped bring more people to the local downtown market. It gets people to walk or take public transportation to the games, letting people spend more time in the urban core.
The Future of Global Sports Ecosystems
Whether these people live there or just visit, they are shopping there now. They are spending time and money there. They eat at the restaurants and see the events there. These people are crowding out money that’s usually being spent somewhere else. In addition, they are generating incremental income for the local community.
Let’s refer back to the example of Little Caesars Arena in the Detroit area. This building opened a year ago as the successor facility for the Joe Louis Arena. There has been a resurgence of putting sports in downtown areas. In Detroit, the Lions played out in Pontiac and the Pistons that played in Auburn Hills.
Even though the Joe Louis Arena was downtown, the Red Wings moved about a half a mile north to the Detroit District because there was a more modern facility there. It’s in downtown Detroit in a place called the District Detroit. It’s close to Comerica Park, where the Tigers play, and the Ford Field, where the Detroit Lions play.
Even in an area that has become a local sports hangout, you wouldn’t even know that the Little Arena was an arena if you walked up to it. Its facade appears to be offices, restaurants, and open spaces. It doesn’t look like the traditional arena of the past. However, when you walk in, you are greeted with videos and the history of the Red Wings and Pistons, who play there.
The flow through the building makes it a wonderful place to watch a sporting event. They offer many different ways to consume the game through great restaurants, shops, and video monitors. In addition, the inside of the building is full of digital media to help viewers enjoy the games. The Little Caesars Arena is a wonderful facility that will probably be the hallmark for how arenas will be built for the next several years.
Now there is this area in the urban core that is sports-related. But if you walk around, there are also restaurants, shops, and parking in the same urban core. More people are moving into the downtown corridor, which may not have happened without sports being built up there. It could have taken many more years to succeed without this kind of influence.
