Stadium entertainment districts — such as the one proposed in South Philly — are changing the game for fans around the country

When Atlanta Braves fans Jeff and Alison Donovan arrived outside Citizens Bank Park, three hours early and excited for opening day versus the Phillies, they were a bit jarred by the surroundings of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex.

“There’s nothing here,” said Jeff Donovan, gazing across a great plain of asphalt that contains 22,000 parking spaces, three stadiums, and one sports bar. “There’s nowhere for us to really do anything.”

It’s different in Atlanta, he said, where the Braves’ Truist Park connects to the Battery, a big stay-and-play entertainment area that teems with lively restaurants, shops, plazas, bars and attractions. It’s packed on game days.

He and his family travel there from their home in Orlando, Fla., drawn by their love for the Braves and the energy at the Battery, named for an old baseball expression. About 10 million people visited last year.

Philadelphia, Donovan said, should build something similar. It has the room. And the fervent fans.

Now the Phillies and Comcast Spectacor, the company that owns the Flyers and the Wells Fargo Center, intend to do exactly that: transform acres of concrete and tar into a gleaming, $2.5 billion sports-and-entertainment zone. If completed, chunks of one of the largest parking areas in North America would be filled with eateries, hotels, apartments, stores, and a 5,500-seat performance venue.

Part of the goal is to create a destination, a southern gateway to Philadelphia that will boost tourism and attract new residents and ideas to the city.

“I think South Philadelphia holds that promise,” said Phil Laws, president of the Wells Fargo Center, which hosts the Sixers as well as the hockey team.

It also promises big money for the team owners.

Across the United States and Canada, these types of mixed-use properties are growing like infield grass, with 41 planned or under construction and 43 more up and operating across the five major pro leagues, according to Maryland-based RCLCO Real Estate Consulting, which advises teams and cities on the developments.

Why the popularity?

“It’s the fan experience,” said Erin Talkington, a managing director at the RCLCO office in Washington. “It’s not a great experience to park your car and walk 15 minutes across the parking lot to the game and do the same when you leave.”

Each development differs. All perform two crucial functions.

For fans and families, they provide a fun and safe place to shop and dine and immerse themselves in the aura of their favorite team. In some cities, these districts have become the go-to gathering spot during big games, where thousands gather to watch on outdoor screens that may be half the size of a basketball court.

For owners — and the main reason for the proliferation — they offer a reliable new stream of income. These venues attract people and dollars 365 days a year, so teams earn money not just from one building, not only during games, and even if the home team stinks.

“Owners are really trying to think about, ‘How am I going to maximize my profits off of this team?’” said associate professor Nicholas Watanabe, who studies sports economics at the University of South Carolina. “A lot of them realize there’s a lot more money in developing land.”

Owners have become landlords, and income from leases and rents rolls in regularly. The projects give teams new ways to bundle ticket, hotel and dining packages, and new avenues to sell naming rights, sponsorships and advertising.

Last year, the Battery delivered $59 million in revenue to Atlanta Braves Holdings, which owns the team and the complex. That was up 10% from the previous year.

Teams see what’s happening and want it for themselves:

Back when there was no such thing as the Super Bowl and NHL goalies played bare-faced, ticket sales drove owners’ profits. The idea was to fill the stadium or arena with as many people as possible on game days and to sell them food, beer and souvenirs while they were there.

That tied owners’ financial success to team performance, and losing seasons could mean years of half-empty arenas. Today, ticket revenue is still important, but it’s become a smaller share of income, surpassed by lucrative TV and broadcast deals.

The NFL’s new media agreements pay $110 billion over 11 years, and football games and sports in general rank among the most-watched shows on television.

Still, even rich people worry about money.

These mixed-use developments help provide a hedge at a moment when the dominance of American sports programming faces new competition, from such entertainment as video games and on-demand TV, and when fan behavior can be unpredictable. Last year’s World Series between the Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks was the least-watched on record.

Even Super Bowl winners can meet a cold shoulder. This month, Kansas City voters overwhelmingly rejected a tax measure that would have helped pay for stadium renovations for the Chiefs and a new downtown ballpark for the baseball Royals.

Farther west, the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes are playing in a 4,600-seat college rink and searching for an arena deal. News reports suggest the Coyotes may relocate.

The Philadelphia Sports Complex stands at the final southern stop of the Broad Street subway line, with virtually all of the city to the north. For half a century it’s been the home of the four major teams — and not much else. Comcast Spectacor and the Phillies plan to change that.

When the company announced the project in February, some people thought it a ruse, an attempt to foil the tenant Sixers’ plan to leave the Wells Fargo Center and move to their own downtown arena in 2031.

But in March the Phillies confirmed they were joining as partners, bolstering the project by adding their popularity, civic muscle, and financial strength as the seventh most valuable team in major-league baseball, worth an estimated $2.9 billion. Comcast Spectacor is backed by its parent company, Comcast, the communications giant that is valued at about $160 billion.

The development is scheduled to break ground this year, starting with a $12 million renovation of Xfinity Live!, the sports bar near Citizens Bank Park.

The plan arrives at a time when teams have largely exhausted their ability to extract more dollars from the physical arenas and stadiums. The addition of luxury seating and exclusive restaurants has become common at venues across the country. There’s little left inside that hasn’t been sold, sponsored, or turned over to advertising.

“That means going outside the four walls of the building,” said the Wells Fargo Center’s Laws. “Like any industry, how do we expand our reach in terms of revenue?”

Two phases of construction are proposed to start on lots near the Wells Fargo Center, then jump north across Pattison Avenue to the area west of the Phillies ballpark.

Comcast Spectacor holds the development rights for the land that makes up phase one. So it can move forward relatively quickly on the property that would hold the performance venue, a hotel, retail shops and restaurants, an outdoor plaza, and parking.

The Eagles are on the sidelines, talking with the other organizations but not involved in the project at this time, according to the football team.

Fans worry about loss of space for tailgating, a multigenerational tradition in Philadelphia. Ultimately, according to Comcast Spectacor, the stadium district would gain, not lose, 2,000 parking spaces. The company says it’s committed to ensuring that tailgating is preserved and even improved in the Sports Complex.

The second phase of construction is more aspirational.

It would expand the project onto lots controlled by the Phillies, reaching from Citizens Bank Park to Broad Street. That phase would add residences, a second hotel, more retail, green space, parking, and potentially offices. A “Phillies Plaza” would be a hub for fans.

“This has an opportunity to be a transformational project that will leave a lasting legacy on our amazing city,” said Phillies managing partner and CEO John Middleton, adding that the plans build on work that’s already underway in nearby FDR Park, the Navy Yard and the Bellwether District.

He said upgrades in infrastructure will improve the flow of traffic in the area, and the local economy will benefit from additional jobs, residents, workers and visitors.

“From the Phillies’ perspective, this was an opportunity to participate in a grand vision for the next iteration of the Philadelphia Sports Complex,” Middleton said. It made sense for the two organizations to partner now, rather than pursue separate projects at different times, to create the best environment and atmosphere for fans, Middleton said.

Comcast Spectacor Chairman and CEO Daniel Hilferty said the company believes “this could be a transformative development and true economic generator” for the city.

“The vision is to have the sports complex be a place where Philadelphians can live, work and gather,” Hilferty said. “With all of those elements, we have the opportunity to build a vibrant district that is representative of more than just hosting events.”

One local expert said the painstaking work guaranteed by this kind of project is just beginning.

“Conceptually, turning asphalt into higher and better uses is a really laudable goal,” said Eli Storch, a Philadelphia architect who is chair of the Design Advocacy Group, which pushes for high-quality planning and development in the city. “That said, these projects take years and years, and this is the first bite of the apple.”

The DAG steering committee met with executives at Comcast Spectacor and this month urged the company to think bigger — to forge connections with neighbors outside the project boundaries, and add parks, playgrounds, and picnic spots.

DAG said the company and the Phillies should develop a master plan that can guide the project amid turnover in City Hall governance or even in team ownership.

In many ways, these modern fan complexes represent an effort to capture the charm of neighborhoods that grew up around older venues, such as Fenway Park in Boston and Wrigley Field in Chicago, which opened in 1912 and 1914, respectively. In Wrigleyville, lanes of pubs and baseball stores thrive in the shadow of the ballpark, drawing tourists and visitors even in winter.

But RCLCO’s Talkington and other experts cautioned that building these new complexes isn’t easy.

For starters, some parking lots are parking lots for good reason, because they cover underground gas or electric lines that would complicate any redevelopment efforts.

These entertainment districts are hugely expensive, and it’s hard for developers to predict the costs of labor and materials in an uncertain, post-COVID economy. Obtaining government approvals can be arduous. Neighbors may not welcome the project.

An analysis by Mortenson, a national, Minneapolis-based developer that has built pro and college stadiums and arenas, says one of the projects’ least-noticed aspects ranks among the most vital: parking garages. Entrance and exit must be seamless, the company said, because those experiences mark patrons’ first and last impressions.

Still, Mortenson said, the developments constitute “a compelling model for revenue generation and economic prosperity.”

The building boom extends even to cities that don’t have teams, places that see the connection of stadium and real-estate development as necessary to secure an expansion team or persuade an existing club to relocate.

In Las Vegas, the Oak View Group hopes to lure an NBA team with a $1 billion, 20,000-seat arena — part of a $10 billion, 66-acre hotel, gambling and entertainment district. Utah lawmakers approved a bill that would place an entertainment zone next to a potential new Salt Lake City home for the NBA’s Jazz, an arena they hope will entice an NHL team to come ― possibly the Coyotes. The legislature wants to build a baseball stadium, too.

“Whenever a bright and shiny development is opened, there’s a ‘Keeping up with the Joneses’ effect,” said Jill Harris, a sports-economics professor at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado. “Decision-makers in the local area see it, all the positive press, the attention. … They think, ‘Why not us?’”

Sinking millions of dollars into stadiums that have no tenants may not be the best use of tax dollars, she said, but it’s attractive to politicians who see gain in promoting big projects.

“It’s just not very glamorous to fill potholes,” she said.

The term the battery reaches back to the 1860s, a military-style analogy that denotes two players, the pitcher “firing” the ball to the catcher. In Atlanta, the two million-square-foot complex has become a draw for corporations, home to the regional office of Comcast and the corporate headquarters of Papa John’s pizza, which moved there from Kentucky.

Of course, that’s not why most people go to the Battery.

They go to ride the mechanical bull at PBR Atlanta, the bar brand of the Professional Bull Riders league, billed as the toughest sport on dirt. They play in the Sandbox virtual-reality center and browse through the unique designs at Baseballism, a fan shop.

“It’s more than just a baseball day experience,” said Winston Parrish, a Braves fan who with his father, Dwight, came from Asheville, N.C., to the Phillies’ opening day game. “You’re able to get a hotel right there in the Battery, and walk from your hotel to the game.”

When Dwight Parrish attended baseball games as a boy in the 1960s and 1970s, the focus was on seeing star players and snacking on Cracker Jack.

“Today, it’s a different thing,” he said. “It’s all about the kids. It’s all about the family experience. It’s awesome.”