Picture the ideal: an entertainment district with a hyper-local feel, attracting all types of people, 18 hours a day, to activities, retail spots, and eateries rich with diverse authenticity. How do you create this ideal ecosystem and avoid the traps of cookie-cutter placemaking? Once you’ve done your due diligence on the alchemy of place – you can begin creating an authentic, profitable entertainment district that attracts locals and tourists alike.
There are no one trick ponies or silver bullets. Let’s talk about everything your district needs to achieve the alchemy of place.
Activity creation: Kernels need to be popping at all times. Entertainment facilities that draw large crowds for sporting events, conventions, or concerts can turn into ghost towns when the big events aren’t happening. These areas are not busy enough in the off times to produce the level of activity needed to maintain the restaurants, bars and retailers. To create activity throughout the week and into the evenings year-round, the most sustainable districts are adding smaller entertainment venues with capacities of 500 – 4,000 to generate 50 – 100 additional event days per year. Some have multiple venues to reach all types of audiences and generate even more consistent activity.
Flexibility: Entertainment venues are still benefitting from pent-up pandemic demand. Creating flexible venues is one of the best strategies to capture more events and produce more impacts for cities. The flexibility checklist includes: venues that can accommodate both indoor and outdoor events, bars and restaurants both inside and outside of the venue walls, and flexibility to host multiple-sized events within the same venue.
Synergy: While some entertainment districts are new developments, others can find alchemy amongst existing sites. When a central venue or location is the primary regional draw, there are opportunities for synergy with additional hospitality and entertainment uses. The goal is to find ways to generate economic activity that are ancillary to the primary area of interest. Sports-anchored entertainment districts have opportunities to produce revenue before, during, and after the game and enhance attendees’ overall experience. Beyond sports, the programming of arts, cultural and community events also creates synergy amongst the uses and helps to sustain restaurants, bars and retailers. Creative office spaces and residential development introduce companies and citizens who are invested in the area and will use walkable businesses on a regular basis.
Diversity. When considering the market for the district, it’s important to engage with all demographics in the vicinity to understand what will drive visitation, spending, and investment. Authenticity and uniqueness are often right under our noses. Expanding outreach to all cultures and neighborhoods will reveal the businesses, entrepreneurial ideas, and perspectives that can make a development truly “of” a place. Cookie-cutter developments with national concepts are a dime a dozen. Engaging with an area’s diverse residents and business owners will reveal local hidden gems that strengthen a localized economic and authentic fabric in the district.
Contact us to set up time to talk about making an entertainment district a year-round success.
