Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ)
Arenas and stadiums associated with the National Football League (NFL), Major League Baseball (MLB), National Basketball Association (NBA), National Hockey League (NHL) and Major League Soccer (MLS) are increasingly concentrated in the downtown cores of Canadian and American cities.
In 1997, 51 per cent of NFL and MLB stadiums and NBA and NHL arenas were located in downtowns. My recent research found that this share has increased to 61 per cent.
The preference for a downtown location is most pronounced in the NBA and NHL, where 80 per cent and 72 per cent of teams, respectively, host their games in downtown arenas.
Building upon the trends observed at the end of the 1990s, my findings demonstrate that the recentralization of arenas and stadiums has intensified through the first quarter of the 21st century, continuing the shift away from the more suburban orientation that characterized the 1950s and 1960s.
From a planning perspective, downtown locations make sense. They typically offer a wider range of mobility options and are often better served by public transit. For team owners, research shows that downtown venues attract more attendees than those situated outside of the downtown, which in turn generates more revenues through ticket, merchandise and food and beverage sales.
Downtown locations can also enable team owners to expand into real estate development. These developments can significantly change the physical and social character of downtown neighbourhoods, raising important questions about who stands to benefit.
Appeal of downtown locations
Downtowns typically offer a high concentration of jobs, housing, hotels, bars and restaurants, making it easier for fans to reach the venue by foot or bike. By locating arenas and stadiums downtown, cities can alleviate car dependency and event-related traffic congestion.
Beyond transportation planning rationales, arenas and stadiums have long been favoured by urban planners as part of the downtown revitalization toolkit. Downtown areas throughout North America have endured decades of decline and disinvestment, driven in part by the centrifugal forces of suburbanization.
Professional sports venues offer cities a rare opportunity to attract a critical mass of people into the downtown, with thousands of fans arriving on game days and, in some leagues, multiple times a week. This influx adds vibrancy, bringing life to downtown streets and putting patrons in nearby shops, bars, restaurants and hotels.
While arenas and stadiums aren’t a silver bullet, they can help to restore and strengthen downtown as the social, cultural and economic heart of a city.
Cities aren’t the only ones who stand to benefit. For team owners, downtown locations can help boost the bottom line, inside and outside the venue. Downtown locations can offer attractive real estate development opportunities, with a growing number of ownership groups pursuing complementary projects on adjacent land, including a mix of residential, retail, office, hotel and entertainment developments.
These projects allow owners to access new revenue streams. Land development is generally not subject to league-wide revenue-sharing agreements, unlike revenues generated through broadcasting rights and media agreements, ticket sales, concessions and merchandise.
For some ownership groups, the opportunity to build and operate a stadium or arena is simply the “appetizer,” whereas the “main dish” is the surrounding real estate play.
Downtowns as entertainment districts
As team owners expand into real estate development, they are becoming increasingly influential in reshaping downtowns across Canada and the United States.
In the 1990s, sports-anchored mixed-use districts, such as Camden Yards in Baltimore and Gateway in Cleveland, were celebrated as innovative models that used sports venues to revitalize downtown cores and create entertainment districts integrated within the urban fabric.
Since then, such districts have proliferated across North America. At the end of 2025, 37 new districts with a major league venue were planned or proposed in Canada and the United States.
This suggests that contemporary sports venues are no longer just physical places where fans gather to watch their favourite teams go toe to toe with their rivals. Rather, they are reshaping the physical and social character of downtown areas.
For instance, the development of Rogers Place, home of the Edmonton Oilers, and the surrounding ICE District, came at the expense and demolition of social housing and community hubs, which weakened social connections that were nurtured in these spaces.
Although locating arenas and stadiums downtown can advance revitalization goals, these developments can also reshape urban spaces in ways that constrain who can access, occupy and participate in downtown public life.
As downtown areas will continue to attract professional sports teams and their venues, revitalization efforts should also consider how these projects can be planned and designed to ensure that downtown cores remain welcoming and widely accessible.
Rylan Graham does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Original source: https://analysis1.mil-osi.com/2026/10/25/how-sports-arenas-and-stadiums-are-reshaping-north-americas-downtowns/