HopefulFuture Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 Interesting thought about Beth steel. Not sure if there might be federal dollars available for the cleanup? Putting structures there that people would not live in full time would make it safer since any exposure to things left behind would be reduced. It may be the only way that we could put something there in the next 50/100 years. So it could be a way to utilize lakefront property that would be unusable and an eyesore for year to come. Not my 1st choice but if it gets rid of and cleans up the site that would be a positive step for the city. Traffic would be a problem however. We could save some money as the structure may not require lights for the field. Imagine watching the stadium and fans glowing while the rest of the country watches us play a home game on a Monday night. . Bingo!!!! And there it is again, that pesky traffic flow problem. Not to mention a stadium is going nowhere near those turbines. They wouldn't allow it, the insurance on the risk assessment would be huge for the stadium and the turbines wouldn't function to maximum efficiency with a huge stadium near them. how about this. The state donates the land to the new owner given they pay for the cleanup. Seems like a trade off. Trade off? An additional 100+ million in soil remediation is a trade off? Here's the rundown on the Lackawanna site, including what is in the ground, how some of it has been cleared, etc. It would be interesting to find out what the cost of cleaning up the rest of the 1,100 acres of former steel plant property would be. There has been more done there than I thought, but there's still some nasty stuff in the ground. Link to the Lackawanna site page. The Buffalo-Niagara Development Agency has it pegged at 1/10th the cost of the Oxy cleanup on Buffalo avenue, to date, that has acceded just over 1 billion dollars in 32 years of expenditures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justnzane Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 With toxic waste cleanup at this location being an issue, no thanks. I can't believe there isn't much of a push to combine the stadium in as part of UB 2020, where the stadium could be shared by the Bulls and Bills, domed, and serve the college and community well. Even if it was only used 15x a year, it is better than renovating two stadia seperately and paying the bill for both, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.Biscuit97 Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 With toxic waste cleanup at this location being an issue, no thanks. I can't believe there isn't much of a push to combine the stadium in as part of UB 2020, where the stadium could be shared by the Bulls and Bills, domed, and serve the college and community well. Even if it was only used 15x a year, it is better than renovating two stadia seperately and paying the bill for both, I like that idea a lot. The key should be to get as many uses out of it as possible. Also, it needs to be a major concert venue. Get a CFL game down here. Get a Raptors game there. Do as much as you can to get money out of it. And I love all the ideas people have. it's nice to see some forward thinking. Great job on the Lackwanna presentation. It is in a good location towards downtown and on the water. That stretch is one of the biggest eye sores in the area. But as others have said, the clean would be insane. I'd worry our players would turn into this: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oman128 Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 A stadium here would be good, but The Fed govt needs to clean up those brownfields, It's way past time for that. While they are at it, they need to knock down about 90 % of those grain elevators, which are horrible to look at and serve next to no practical purpose anymore. Keep 1 or 2 of them for the preservationists. Then keep tearing down the blighted properties all over town, and rehabbing others. Able body folks on social services, welfare can help with mowing grass, painting, cleaning, maybe some can even learn to build and get jobs in the construction industry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HopefulFuture Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 A stadium here would be good, but The Fed govt needs to clean up those brownfields, It's way past time for that. While they are at it, they need to knock down about 90 % of those grain elevators, which are horrible to look at and serve next to no practical purpose anymore. Keep 1 or 2 of them for the preservationists. Then keep tearing down the blighted properties all over town, and rehabbing others. Able body folks on social services, welfare can help with mowing grass, painting, cleaning, maybe some can even learn to build and get jobs in the construction industry. Excellent insight here. And I agree with everything you just posted. If you look out south past FNC those grain elevators are actually a danger over all. Preservationist are the problem there. Some say historical value, others climb on the bird sanctuary side. In either case it's insane, to me in any event, to leave those existing structures in place decaying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbb Posted June 10, 2014 Author Share Posted June 10, 2014 I like that idea a lot. The key should be to get as many uses out of it as possible. Also, it needs to be a major concert venue. Get a CFL game down here. Get a Raptors game there. Do as much as you can to get money out of it. And I love all the ideas people have. it's nice to see some forward thinking. Great job on the Lackwanna presentation. It is in a good location towards downtown and on the water. That stretch is one of the biggest eye sores in the area. But as others have said, the clean would be insane. I'd worry our players would turn into this: Man, talk about a home field advantage! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbb Posted June 11, 2014 Author Share Posted June 11, 2014 Everybody keeps talking about this like it's the Love Canal. What type of hazardous materials are there because of steelmaking? I'm not super well versed, but I didn't think they used chemicals. And, isn't the former Republic Steel now going to be used for a big new facility? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jethro_tull Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 I've thought about this alot. The idea of a new Bills stadium and cleanup of arguably the largest footprint of blight in the area is a carrott too enticing to ignore. In one fell swoop the area would take a giant step towards transormation and revitalization. An act of epic proportions that would be truly historical. But is it the right place for the stadium? This is a once in a generation opportunity for WNY and the decision makers had best be careful. After all it is a business, and business success is greatly linked to location. The location should be selected that will give the team the best chances for long term success. Providing geographical renovation would be a nice bonus but should not come at the expense of the team's growth. Is there a location that would provide a unique, memorable NFL experience that would represent the backbone of the Buffalo area? An experience that no other market could provide? What is unique and endearing about the area that could be presented and enhanced during an NFL weekend? Does that unique and endearing feature of the area lend itself as the site of an NFL stadium and business? Some say not to overthink this. I say think about it and get it right. http://www.bestdesignedcity.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbb Posted July 6, 2014 Author Share Posted July 6, 2014 I've thought about this alot. The idea of a new Bills stadium and cleanup of arguably the largest footprint of blight in the area is a carrott too enticing to ignore. In one fell swoop the area would take a giant step towards transormation and revitalization. An act of epic proportions that would be truly historical. I don't know the answers to the rest, but I totally agree with this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truth on hold Posted July 6, 2014 Share Posted July 6, 2014 (edited) Except for a handful of people from around there, nobody gives a s#@& about lackawana waterfront. Minor league baseball at best. If you're looking for national interest (heck international), put it next to one of the worlds major tourist attractions in Niagara falls. Regionalization problem solved. Edited July 6, 2014 by Joe_the_6_pack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbb Posted July 6, 2014 Author Share Posted July 6, 2014 Nobody gives a !@#$ because it looks like a crap right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromoTheRobot Posted July 6, 2014 Share Posted July 6, 2014 (edited) We built a stadium and arena in the middle of nowhere expecting development to magically spring up. What sprang up around RWS in 40 years? The only reason anything is happening around the arena downtown is because of Terry Pegula. Stop repeating the same mistake. Build a stadium where stuff is now, not where you hope it will be in 20 years. Tailgaters would be enough away from the immediate shoreline to protect them from the weather and the temperature of the air at times would be ten degrees warmer from the lake retaining the summer heat in the later season. This is a joke, right? Do you know what warm lake waters and cold winds produce? Here's a hint: it's what Buffalo is famous for. Edited July 6, 2014 by PromoTheRobot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbb Posted July 6, 2014 Author Share Posted July 6, 2014 Like what stuff? You don't think that's close enough to see it as a continuum of the waterfront development that is happening already? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromoTheRobot Posted July 6, 2014 Share Posted July 6, 2014 (edited) Like what stuff? You don't think that's close enough to see it as a continuum of the waterfront development that is happening already? The old Bethlehem Steel grounds are 4 miles from the FNC Center. Things have to be walking distance. By "stuff" I mean Canalside, the Casino, the FNC center, hotels, restaurants and bars. You finally have that near the FNC center after 20 years of tumbleweeds. Why not build on that rather than start a whole new spot that needs to be developed from scratch? A football stadium near Canalside/Cobblestone would add at least 10 (16 if UB plays there) huge events a year to an area that already has a hundred some events each year. That adds to the success to the businesses already there. Plus people can take the Metro. Build a stadium in Lackawanna and you have what we have in Orchard Park now...pretty much nothing. Edited July 6, 2014 by PromoTheRobot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Formerly Allan in MD Posted July 6, 2014 Share Posted July 6, 2014 With fond memories of working one summer at Bethlehem during college, I think it's a great idea. Anything to change the areas image will help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jumbalaya Posted July 6, 2014 Share Posted July 6, 2014 A stadium here would be good, but The Fed govt needs to clean up those brownfields, It's way past time for that. While they are at it, they need to knock down about 90 % of those grain elevators, which are horrible to look at and serve next to no practical purpose anymore. Keep 1 or 2 of them for the preservationists. Then keep tearing down the blighted properties all over town, and rehabbing others. Able body folks on social services, welfare can help with mowing grass, painting, cleaning, maybe some can even learn to build and get jobs in the construction industry. Why does the Federal Govt have to clean up the brown fields? Why should the federal gov't knock down the grain elevators? Shouldn't big business or the City and State be responsible for what happened here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
machine gun kelly Posted July 6, 2014 Share Posted July 6, 2014 As much as I like the idea of placing the stadium in Lackawanna, it would seem the coordination of federal money, as well as everything else would make it quite a complicated endeavor. If it could be done, that would be great. Just like if NF was the choice, the state would need to spend considerable funds to improve transportation and infrastructure. Therefore, the easiest solution is to place downtown. I still like the other two choices, but one would require a coordination of federal funds, and the other with state funds. That's not including the state and county funds for the actual construction of the stadium in a private/public project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jethro_tull Posted July 6, 2014 Share Posted July 6, 2014 (edited) The old Bethlehem Steel grounds are 4 miles from the FNC Center. Things have to be walking distance. By "stuff" I mean Canalside, the Casino, the FNC center, hotels, restaurants and bars. You finally have that near the FNC center after 20 years of tumbleweeds. Why not build on that rather than start a whole new spot that needs to be developed from scratch? A football stadium near Canalside/Cobblestone would add at least 10 (16 if UB plays there) huge events a year to an area that already has a hundred some events each year. That adds to the success to the businesses already there. Plus people can take the Metro. Build a stadium in Lackawanna and you have what we have in Orchard Park now...pretty much nothing. This is what I believe. The downtown south waterfront is where the stadium has to be. This is the backbone of Buffalo. The area was made great as a waterway to the East via the Erie Canal. The harbor. The shipping. The grain elevators. The atmosphere of an over the water western sunset. This is Buffalo! Linked to other "anchors" of the downtown area, the stadium and the events (as mentioned) will work together with other nearby infrastructure, attractions and facilities and create a synergy. A synergy where this grows because of that, and that grows or is spawned because of this. A synergy where the area can grow greater than the sum of its individual parts. As much as I would like to see the steel plant blight be obliterated from the lakefront landscape, liknking it to the stadium construction will never happen. The costs would be astronomical and it would be at the expense of the best possible location for the stadium. The Bethlehem site renovation should still be aggressively pursued. From what I've read it is caught up in a world of bureaucratic red tape involving the succeeding corporate ownerships. They still owe the Federal Government disclosure reports concerning the amount and type of hazerdous materials on site. This has been ongoing since 1990 and the report was due in 2004! In 2003 the site was named a "brownfield" but there is no agreement reached or plan to receive Federal funds. The "people", constituents of elected local, state and federal officals, have every right to make this a hotbed issue and demand that hazerdous disclosure and superfund agreemants be reached. Edited July 6, 2014 by jethro_tull Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBill Posted July 6, 2014 Share Posted July 6, 2014 I love the idea but who would pay for the cleanup of the old Beth Steel site? This is the key question because digging in the area is likely to be an environmental nightmare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrags Posted July 6, 2014 Share Posted July 6, 2014 This is the key question because digging in the area is likely to be an environmental nightmare. heres the thing. We can all agree on a few things in sure: No matter where they decide to build a new stadium, it's going to be a nightmare. If it's downtown, OP, waterfront, NF, etc... There's going to be pitfalls with every option It's gotta be built somewhere. Why does it matter where needs to be cleaned up If it's at the old Beth steel site, there's a good chance of some kind of government assistance (federal, state, and local) because of what an eyesore it's become. There's a good chance there is help to clean up the site. If it's the waterfront, chances are the governments want to help clean it up because it helps with the future development of the city as a whole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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