<\/p>\n
City leaders appeared set a few weeks ago on a downtown or Chinatown location for a future stadium when they announced a deal with the United Soccer League<\/a> to bring a new professional team to Fresno.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It could look for space along the future California high-speed rail corridor, which would place a stadium just off Highway 99. A location could also depend on the stadium\u2019s design and how it fits within a larger entertainment and business district.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Whatever the final site decision, the city may have to incentivize existing businesses to move for the development of the new stadium.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Elliott Balch, president of the Downtown Fresno Partnership, said there are some larger blocks near the high-speed rail corridor in proximity to the future station that could be considered.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThinking about proximity to other kinds of investments and other infrastructure is important,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Balch said a new stadium gives the city an opportunity to design a building differently than it did when Chukchansi Park was built more than 20 years ago. That stadium, he said, was designed at a time when many did not want to go downtown after dark. Its activity was oriented away from Fulton Street and parking was made to get in and out quickly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He said some sports venues \u2014 including Wrigley Field in Chicago and Fenway Park in Boston \u2014 have \u201creally vibrant business scenes that are adjacent.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cOur businesses and property owners in downtown would love for the stadium to be near them,\u201d Balch said. \u201cThe importance of proximity to small businesses that can benefit from the foot traffic is a really key consideration.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The city wants the venue to seat a minimum of 5,000 people, and Mayor Jerry Dyer says it could require at least six acres. Dyer said at a Jan. 13 news conference that the city is not looking to fully fund the stadium \u2014 which he estimated could cost $50 million \u2014 and is instead interested in a shared investment partnership with the private sector.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The plan appears to be in the very early stages, but local officials say downtown and Chinatown will be ready to accommodate a new venue as its infrastructure is being upgraded<\/a> with hundreds of millions of dollars provided by the state.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThe only location that we are entertaining is the downtown, Chinatown area,\u201d Dyer said at a Jan. 13 news conference.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n A new team will need its own soccer-specific stadium to avoid the types of failures that caused Fresno\u2019s original USL team, the Fresno Foxes, to decide to leave in 2019 after only two seasons in town. That team played its home games at Chukchansi Park while it unsuccessfully looked for its own stadium location in various parts of Fresno, and even Madera County.<\/p>\n <\/p>\nWhat will it look like?<\/h2>\n
Lessons from Chukchansi<\/h2>\n