Cities such as Cincinnati, St Louis, and New Orleans gave up prime bits of downtown real estate for sports venues. Were the trade-offs worth it? I remember how Reds Stadium in Cincinnati brought in huge crowds. People came from out of town, parked in a wasteland where the historic waterfront had been, watched a game and maybe stayed in town for a meal, and then went back to their suburban or country homes. They contributed little to the life of downtown, except trash and pollution. Polar Park is supposed to be the centerpiece of a major renovation of the Canal District, a somewhat down-at-the-heels neighborhood literally on the other side of the railroad tracks. The original scheme included a 225-unit apartment building, two hotels, and 65,000 square feet of retail and restaurants. A second phase was to add another 200,000 square feet of retail. Some of this construction–no doubt delayed by Covid–will occur on the large open lots across from the stadium entrance.