Considering Urban Football Stadiums: St. Louis, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, D.C., Chicago and Seattle

The following piece was written for the excellent Greater Greater Washington site. Following a contributor debate regarding the merits of a new urban NFL stadium in D.C., additional cities are thrown into the mix. The first post looks at Indianapolis and St. Louis, following on the GGW site will be Cincinnati, Chicago and Seattle.

Each of the three St. Louis National Football League stadiums has been located in an urban setting. Sportsman's Park was truly a neighborhood stadium, sharing an incredible likeness to Chicago's Wrigley Field. A football field was shoe horned into Sportsman's for six years.

When Busch Stadium I opened in 1966 it was one of a wave of dual use stadiums of similar design, started by DC's own RFK stadium and followed by Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and San Francisco. The stadium was home to Major League Baseball's Cardinals and the Cardinals NFL team. Built during a period unprecedented faith in urban renewal in St. Louis, the stadium was one component of a larger effort that included the final clearing of a dozen city blocks for the Gateway Mall, the building of the Gateway Arch and construction of urban Interstates through the city.