Dive Brief:
- The Gateway Downtown Consortium, comprised of prominent Shreveport business leaders and community members, has proposed a $1 billion downtown waterfront development that would built as a public-private partnership (P3), according to the Shreveport Times.
- The consortium has teamed with two New York City-based companies – infrastructure development firm AirRail and real estate developer Janus Property – for what project officials said will be the development of Shreveport's Cross Bayou area. Included in the group's plan is a sports complex anchored by a 3,500-seat arena, a new municipal center, a technology-based charter school and a 5,000-unit, mixed-use housing development with multifamily and single-family offerings. Developers hope to attract a New Orleans Pelicans minor-league basketball team to play in the arena.
- The P3 would require local government involvement, but the city council rejected a similar plan last year because one of the conditions was that it borrow $30 million to help build the sports complex. Shreveport Mayor Ollie Tyler said it is possible that the city will participate in the new proposal but only if developers can offer "complete transparency."
Dive Insight:
Sports and entertainment venues are becoming popular anchors for mixed-use developments in urban cities because they bring tens of thousands of people to an area to shop, dine and play. Many of the new developments also include housing options for single professionals as well as families who are interested in easy commutes to jobs and access to restaurants, stores, museums and more.
Developer Sterling Bay announced in November that it would build a 20,000-seat soccer stadium as part of the $10 billion Lincoln Yards mixed-use, waterfront development and that a new United Soccer League (USL) franchise would play there. The 70-acre project will focus on live-work-play aspects, and is one of 10 Windy City properties submitted to Amazon as a candidate for the company's $5 billion second North American headquarters.
While the Chicago soccer stadium is part of the Lincoln Yards development, separate mixed-use projects are springing up around sports venues. One of the best examples of this, albeit on a massive scale, is the proposed development surrounding the new $2.6 billion LA Stadium at Hollywood Park where the Los Angeles Rams and San Diego Chargers football teams will play starting in 2020. A number of large projects are in the works around the 70,000-seat venue: a 6,000-seat performing arts arena, more than 1.5 million square feet of office and retail space, entertainment and dining establishments, conference and event facilities, 300 hotel rooms, 25 acres of public parks and green space and 2,500 new residences.
