JLL Trends and Insights Podcast: How sports venues keep the lights on after game day

LISTEN TO EXPERTS DISCUSS THE BENEFITS AND CHALLENGES OF INTEGRATING STADIUMS INTO URBAN NEIGHBORHOODS (April 02, 2024) — Sports venues attract thousands of visitors to nearby entertainment hot spots. But what happens when the stadium lights dim?

The St. Louis Cardinals helped pioneer the concept of creating a mixed-use development around Busch Stadium. The Atlanta Braves and Texas Rangers followed suit with projects near their new baseball parks.

Now Indianapolis developer Ersal Ozdemir is joining the roster to transform an underutilized part of the city’s downtown into a riverfront development anchored by a 20,000-seat hybrid sports stadium for men’s and women’s soccer.

The idea, he says, is to expand downtown and transform that part of the city “to connect the west side of the river to the east side of the river where we are, and then connect our area to the core of the city.”

These types of developments have the potential to generate significant economic revenue, according to a comprehensive study. For example, The Battery Atlanta — a mixed-use development adjacent to the Atlanta Braves’ Truist Park — has had a halo effect on the surrounding area to the tune of $18.9 million per year.

Listen to Ozdemir, founder and owner of Keystone Group real estate development and American soccer team Indy Eleven, and Jim Renne, JLL’s national director for sports entertainment project development, talk about the challenges and opportunities facing developers and cities trying to create these new community hubs in this episode of Trends & Insights: The Future of Commercial Real Estate.