Sports Stadiums

Crowd of LA Dodgers fans in downtown Los Angeles waving pennants, celebrating a win.

America’s urban FIFA stars won’t be stadiums — it will be our downtowns. Let’s not blow it.

When the World Cup visits cities across America this summer, it’s a rare chance to shift the perception of our downtowns on the global stage. The secret? What makes downtowns great for FIFA makes them great for everyone, all the time.

April 13, 2026 - Robbie Silver

Fans walking away from Flying Squirrels minor league baseball stadium in Richmond, Virginia at night.

Richmond's new 'stadium district' will include hundreds of homes, offices, jobs

The city is planning for a neighborhood revival in the area around a new baseball stadium.

April 9, 2026 - CBS 6 Richmond

Levi's sports stadium in Santa Clara, California.

FTA Offers $100 Million in Transit Grants to World Cup Host Cities

Championship soccer games will be held in 11 U.S. cities this summer as part of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

March 4, 2026 - USA Today

 Crowd of people de-board VTA transit train to attend Wrestlemania 31 at the Levi's Stadium in San Clara, California on March 29, 2015.

Super Bowl and Seahawks Victory Parade Break Transit Ridership Records in Bay Area and Seattle

Roughly 20 percent of Super Bowl attendees arrived at the stadium by transit.

February 16, 2026 - SFGate

Rendering of promenade in Potomac Yard in Alexandria, Virginia with Virginia Tech logo on building in background.

Alexandria’s Hopes for Stadium Deal Dashed

The city hoped a stadium for DC-area teams would anchor a new, high-density development in a vacant lot.

April 12, 2024 - WTOP

CPKC sports stadium under construction in Kansas City, Missouri.

New Kansas City Stadium Offers Limited Parking

Unlike many sports arenas surrounded by seas of concrete, the new CPKC Stadium has parking for just 2,000 vehicles, hoping most sports fans will arrive by transit.

February 27, 2024 - The Kansas City Star

View from under track of Seattle monorail passing under Frank Gehry-designed Museum of Pop Culture with Space Needle in background

‘The Power of the Kraken:’ Seattle Monorail Ridership Spikes for Hockey Games

Seattle’s new professional hockey team is drawing legions of enthusiastic fans. Around a quarter of them are taking public transit, such as the city’s often-maligned monorail, to games.

May 25, 2023 - The Seattle Times

Rendering of downtown Milwaukee sports stadium with soccer field

Sports Stadiums Bring Few Economic Benefits

While their developers often tout jobs and local economic development as benefits of major stadium projects, research shows these venues often make little impact on local economies.

August 11, 2022 - Urban Milwaukee

FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland

Maryland Proposes $400 Million Redevelopment Around Commanders Stadium

The state is offering to make a massive investment in revitalizing the neighborhood surrounding FedEx Field, but offering no direct incentives to the NFL team.

April 13, 2022 - The Washington Post

NFL Stadiums

Stadiums, Space, and the City

Stadium footprints are enormous. It's time to get smarter about how they are used.

February 9, 2021 - Richard Dion

Concord BART Station

Entertainment District in East Bay Area City Scrapped Due to Economic Uncertainty

A developer has changed its mind about a plan to bring a soccer stadium and convention center to the city of Concord in the East San Francisco Bay Area.

June 2, 2020 - East Bay Times

Major League Soccer

Soccer Stadium Plans Amended Over Concerns About Displacement in Cincinnati

Planning Commissioners in Cincinnati talked a lot about the severed trust between the city, residents, and the Major League Soccer team FC Cincinnati at a hearing last week.

May 12, 2019 - Cincinnati Business Courier

Major League Soccer

Plans Released for New $200 Million MLS Stadium in Cincinnati

The Major League Soccer Team FC Cincinnati is planning on building a stadium, along with attached mixed-use development, in the West End neighborhood of its hometown.

November 29, 2018 - CityBeat

Major League Soccer Comes Calling in St. Louis, Again

Despite the disappointment of losing a stadium deal to the financial concerns of St. Louis voters, Major League Soccer is willing to give the city another look.

September 28, 2018 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

NFL Stadium

$489.6 Million Redevelopment of Former Sports Stadium Breaks Ground in D.C.

RFK Stadium, former home to professional football, soccer, and baseball teams, is done. A massive redevelopment has begun, starting with new sports fields for kids.

August 31, 2018 - WTOP

Columbus Crew

Austin Approves New Stadium to Lure Columbus' Soccer Team

The Austin City Council approved plans for a new, privately financed soccer stadium to become the future home of the team currently known as the Columbus Crew.

August 16, 2018 - KUT

Miami

Renderings Show New Soccer Complex in Miami

Did we mention David Beckham is behind the proposal?

July 16, 2018 - Miami Herald

Soccer Brings Development Hopes, and Displacement Fears, to Cincinnati

A proposal for a Major League Soccer (MLS) stadium in Cincinnati's West End is raising displacement concerns among residents.

February 27, 2018 - Cincinnati Business Courier

Freeway Construction

GOP Tax Plan Eliminates Critical Infrastructure-Funding Bond Program

The Tax Cut and Jobs Act would have a deleterious effect on major infrastructure proposed by the private sector. The loss of Private Activity Bonds would hike borrowing rates for road, transit, stadium, and even affordable housing projects.

November 9, 2017 - Greater Greater Washington

Miami

David Beckham's Big Idea: A New Soccer Stadium in Miami, With Zero Parking Spaces

A group led by David Beckham is working to build a stadium in Miami that would house a Major League Soccer team. There are two twists (besides Becks): the stadium would require zero public financing and the stadium would build zero parking.

May 28, 2017 - Miami Herald

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.

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