{"id":3111,"date":"2021-09-01T14:05:45","date_gmt":"2021-09-01T14:05:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.angmarrealty.com\/?p=3111"},"modified":"2021-09-01T14:05:45","modified_gmt":"2021-09-01T14:05:45","slug":"building-a-better-entertainment-district-bring-the-buzz-then-the-boxes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.angmarrealty.com\/building-a-better-entertainment-district-bring-the-buzz-then-the-boxes\/","title":{"rendered":"Building A Better Entertainment District: Bring The Buzz, Then The Boxes"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By many measures, the <\/span>Arlington Entertainment District\u00a0is on the comeback trail.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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After the coronavirus pandemic crippled major sports and events, visitation to the area is up to just under 69% of 2019 numbers and climbing, according to Chris Briggs, senior vice president of consumer analytics and technology company\u00a0Buxton. Texas Live! Is selling out concerts. And\u00a0Dallas Cowboys\u00a0Executive Vice President of Business Operations Chad Estis said months of pent-up demand meant events like the May 9 Canelo Alvarez-Billy Joe Saunders boxing match at AT&T Stadium sold more than 72,000 tickets versus just 45,000 when Alvarez last fought in the venue several years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere’s this term that I have been seeing in a lot of the data we get called \u2018revenge spending,\u2019 and I think it’s real,\u201d Estis said.<\/p>\n

But\u00a0entertainment districts and large mixed-use projects could be even more successful if developers\u00a0went about their design strategies differently, according to one contrarian panelist at\u00a0Bisnow<\/em>\u2019s The Future of Tarrant County event Aug. 17 in\u00a0Fort Worth\u00a0who said developers aren\u2019t sufficiently considering\u00a0the needs of the retailers, restaurateurs and visitors who make such spaces come alive.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey always start with an architect and a designer, and those people are not\u00a0food and beverage\u00a0people; they’re fluffy pillow people,\u201d\u00a0Jason Boso\u00a0of\u00a0Brain Storm Shelter Restaurants\u00a0said during a discussion on creating entertainment districts.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are construction and budget people, there are traffic impact analysis people, and after all that’s done, then they go, \u2018Hey, F&B guys, what do you think?\u2019 Well, we think it sucks, but there’s nothing to do about it right now. And we need to grow our business, so we’re going to come into your half-ass complex. We’re going to make it better, and you’re going to charge us through the nose.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boso\u2019s company operates restaurants and beer yards across Texas, including\u00a0Twisted Root Burger Co. and the soon-to-open\u00a0Second Rodeo Brewing\u00a0Co. in the Arlington Entertainment District. The district hosts two\u00a0Six Flags\u00a0theme parks, AT&T Stadium (home of\u00a0the Dallas Cowboys),\u00a0Globe Life Field\u00a0(home of the\u00a0Texas Rangers), the Texas Live! entertainment complex that includes the\u00a0Arlington Backyard\u00a0outdoor concert venue, and a number of other attractions, hotels, apartments, shops and restaurants.<\/p>\n

Boso said many developers assume building apartment buildings \u2014 or, as he calls them, \u201clittle vanilla boxes\u201d \u2014 is what catalyzes the growth of nearby businesses like his,\u00a0but the order should be reversed.<\/p>\n

Instead, he said, developers should focus on restaurants, bars, shopping and activities that create a buzz, then build residential complexes around that later. Currently, he said, retail rents are set at about $45 per SF in Arlington Entertainment District, a price developers justify by pointing to apartment occupancy and selling a built-in customer base. But not only does occupancy fluctuate, nearby residents make up a mere drop in the bucket of the covers necessary for him to turn a profit.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy not break even on the food and beverage and then [later] charge an extra dollar a square foot?\u201d Boso said. \u201cBut they do it backwards, and it hurts our industry tremendously.\u201d<\/p>\n

Parking\u00a0is another thing developers of entertainment districts get wrong, he said. Too much and overly convenient parking destroys the energy and walkability of a place, Boso said, giving visitors fewer reasons to linger and explore.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s OK to make people walk a minute or two because you’ll create a better destination,\u201d he said. \u201cJust stop making it so convenient for cars and make it more interesting for people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Making the Arlington Entertainment District more interesting is of keen interest to Texas Live! Chief Operating Officer Jim Watry, who said his goal is to extend the time spent in the area, whether it\u2019s encouraging tourists to stretch their stays an additional night or local visitors to\u00a0hang around\u00a0an hour longer after a game or concert. That means working in an integrated fashion with other venues in the district. Watry said he would also like to see the district offer more events and entertainment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis started with, \u2018How do we give people a way to come an hour before the game?\u2019 \u2026 because we went 30 years without giving anybody an opportunity to do anything but come, go to a game and then leave,\u201d said\u00a0Sean Decker, executive vice president\u00a0of sports and entertainment for the\u00a0Texas Rangers. \u201cThe goal now is always one more night, whether it be getting more folks to staycation or vacation and then hopefully eventually moving into giving people a reason to live in the district so that we can work, live, play, eat, all those things. That’s ultimately where we have to go for long-term sustainability in our eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Panelists\u00a0said the center needs more density in the form of hotel rooms and residential units to keep people on-site for more than a few hours \u2014 thousands of units, Decker said, if it is to attract the major events it is after, including the\u00a0World Series. Estis said AT&T Stadium is in the running for the\u00a0World Cup\u00a0as well.<\/p>\n

Those involved with the Arlington Entertainment District said there is also a need for more activity and entertainment that doesn’t involve shopping, especially in the hours between lunch and dinner.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere needs to be more activity that\u00a0… gets you out there spending the money,\u201d Boso said. \u201c[We] need to be giving multiple opportunities within one area of walking distance so they don’t get back in their car and go somewhere else. It\u2019s a little bit like candy in the shopping line at the grocery store line where you might just grab it \u2014 they\u2019ll walk in and spend a couple of dollars by us living all together in a walkable district where we can spend multiple hours, not just have appetizer, entr\u00e9e, dessert and go home.\u201d<\/p>\n

BIZNNOW. (2021, August 19). Building A Better Entertainment District: Bring The Buzz, Then The Boxes [News post]. Retrieved from https:\/\/www.bisnow.com\/dallas-ft-worth\/news\/construction-development\/building-a-better-entertainment-district-create-buzz-not-boxes-109930<\/span><\/p>\n

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By many measures, the Arlington Entertainment District\u00a0is on the comeback trail.\u00a0 After the coronavirus pandemic crippled major sports and events, visitation to the area is up to just under 69% of 2019 numbers and climbing, according to Chris Briggs, senior vice president of consumer analytics and technology company\u00a0Buxton. Texas Live! Is selling out concerts. And\u00a0Dallas … <\/p>\n

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