Stadium sitings: A before and after look at land use changes and how these reflect urban agendas

U.S. cities have continuously pursued sport stadium development as an economic development strategy. Meanwhile, there remains little understanding of the actual land use changes that have occurred within stadium areas or how these land use changes reflect stadium-area planning and development goals. We ask, what are the land use changes surrounding stadium sitings? Through spatial analysis of four sports stadiums in three U.S. cities (Chicago, Illinois; Columbus, Ohio; and Minneapolis, Minnesota), we find that stadiums are sited in spaces experiencing or expected to experience development and station areas involved extensive but diverse land use changes. The significance of this study resides in results showing the lack of connection between local visions and land use changes. That is, land use changes did not necessarily reflect local visions or development goals. In addition, we find evidence that stadium sitings increase residential land uses in the surrounding area. The percentage change in area of a land use class reflects local economic development planning efforts. Each stadium’s context, including the planning goals, neighborhood type, and land use classification system varied. Our research highlights the difficulties in accessing land use data and evaluating changes over time–particularly for such substantial public investments. This work is important because it shows that in order for cities to use stadiums to provide targeted outcomes, clear visions and goals must be linked to land use and zoning. As land use determines the activities and developments that can occur within station areas, contextually specific visions and goals of stadium area development tied to land use can greatly influence the types of changes that occur in these areas.