Reader Submission by Warren Ansley:
I am wondering if BRO readers are aware of this article that appeared in the online edition (February 05, 2016) of The Journal of the American Institute of Architects regarding the proposed new stadium for the Los Angles NFL football team?
While reading the article and viewing the renderings I began to think what a new stadium for the Buffalo Bills would look like. LA has a lot going for it, as for Buffalo and Western NY there are some challenges. Architectural speaking if and when a stadium is proposed/built for the Bills, it won’t be anything like what is proposed for LA.
I was born and raised in Buffalo and remember the back and forth debacle of the selection of a new stadium site for the Buffalo Bills. l use to park cars in my family’s home driveway on Best and Michigan Street, not far from War Memorial Stadium (The Rock). Thus, my enthusiasm (17 yrs old) at the time with following the debates regarding stadium site selection. I prayed that the downtown location would be selected. At that time, (my formative years) I could visualize the advantages, however Buffalo and Erie County politics made the wrong decision to locate the stadium in Orchard Park. I understand there may be, and are underlying reasons, but I won’t expound on them here. At that time, I was in high school and was introduced to the profession of architecture. I went on to study Architecture and Urban Planning and now reside in Washington, DC where there is talk of a new stadium for the Washington football team in the District.
In my opinion and from observations experienced growing up in my hometown, the wrong decisions seemed to always be made (at least in my lifetime) as it relates to urban planning. Case in point the location of the University at Buffalo in Amherst, the interruption of the street grid with the an unsightly building called the Convention Center… I could go on and on.
I’m sharing this article because I feel that Buffalo Bills, Erie County and the City of Buffalo won’t be able to compare to the proposed new LA stadium (lead image). Unfortunately, I see the status quo remaining in Western New York, with an upgrade to “The Ralph”. However, I’m going to keep hope alive that a reasonable decision (downtown) will be made regarding the location of a new stadium for my hometown football team, the Buffalo Bills.
Lead image: HKS Sports & Entertainment