Tale of 2 cities, Syracuse Versus Baltimore Maryland

I just got back from a family outing to an old fashioned summer baseball game in Baltimore. Aside from the long drive I was eager to see a quality professional sporting event. Baltimore did not disappoint. The stadium was built in a revitalized downtown center. Syracuse's minor league stadium is built on a side of town not often frequented by folks from the suburbs. Baltimore's stadium was clean, packed full of screaming fans and it was architecturally beautiful. Skychiefs stadium in Syracuse is none of those things...Least of all packed.

Baltimore did it right. The BART trains disgorge their passengers right at the gates of the stadium meaning the fan faithful can park far from the crowded inner city. The vendors were plentiful, selling BBQ ribs, pulled pork sandwiches, and crab cakes. In Syracuse you get a Hoffman hot dog and a soda.

The smartest thing about the Baltimore stadium is it's location. The placement of Camden Yards @ the heart of downtown ensures that a good portion of the fans will remain in the clean neighborhoods surrounding the stadium after the game. It ensures that many folks will eat a meal or tip back a cold one in the nearby restaurants and pubs. For the out of towners there are multiple hotels within a blocks walk from the front gate of the stadium. The Syracuse stadium was built miles away from downtown and the rejuvenated Armory Square district. The few fans who do attend games pay 3 bucks to park (there is a train but it can't reach the stadium) and then they go home. They go home because there are no shops or restaurants nearby for them to stop into.

And herein lies my point; Syracuse development has been done here and there and over there. But nothing is linked together. There is no central vision of how projects are being built. The restaurant district (Armory Square) is beautiful but there is hardly enough parking. And just recently it was decided by the powers to be to convert one of the few free parking lots into a sewage transfer station. Talk about a waste.

The sporting venues like the Skychiefs and the Crunch hockey teams play their games at opposite sides of the city. The War Memorial and Skychief stadiums are clear across town from one another. There is no convenient link between them, no vision was applied. Now take a trip to Baltimore and you will see the Orioles and the Ravens stadiums a stones throw from one another. Both stadiums sit in the midst of a booming downtown. Both sit at the cross roads of modern highways and railheads. Both sit astride clean city streets filled with shops benefiting from the traffic of the thousands of fans.

Syracuse needs to get smart. We need to send our community development folks out into the world and emulate the successful downtowns in the nation. We need to learn from their lessons. IF you build it, they will come, unless.... they can't park...they can't get a meal... they don't feel safe...And most of all not if they don't find it fun!!!! And downtown Syracuse isn't very fun these days. We need to fix this and keep Syracusans happy to be living in Syracuse.