No. Are you joking? Buffalo destroyed its waterfront over the past century with everything from steel mills that have rendered much of it toxic dump to landfills to disgusting highways. They aren't the only city to have done that. But cities with vision are rethinking that myopic strategy.
The Embarcadero in San Francisco fell amid the earthquake in 1989. It was among the most disgusting examples of bad urban planning leaving much of the city's waterfront mired in gloom beneath the road. When it fell, they never rebuilt it. Now that area is beautiful even despite the baseball stadium.
Have you ever been to Minneapolis? They have huge swaths of greenspace throughout the city. Property around that greenspace has tremendous value.
Look at Buffalo's own Delaware Park. Once a crown jewel of the city until they sliced it in half with the Scajaquada, a scar of asphalt with a name that is just slightly less appealing than its visual aesthetic. Still, the properties in the area are among the most valuable in the city.
I'll tell you why not.
Greenspace would benefit everyone. Not just the billionaire owner, the millionaire babies on the field, and the trash strewing drunken fans that go to eight, no sorry, seven games a year.
Do it as Wagon has it and drop it on that awful casino, fine. But with it, contingencies by governments on all levels and team ownership to invest heavily in the city to rejuvenate the balance of the waterfront and restore it to its glory with greenspace. There's some good efforts already underway and the city needs to keep that momentum going. Buffalo has an historic opportunity for a renaissance. There was good reason why the moneyed folk of NYC made western NY their second homes. It was beautiful and the weather was great in the summer. Let's get that mojo back.
All development is not good. We should have learned that lesson after the wholesale destruction of the parkways, the Delaware mansions, the Olmstead parks, the waterfront, etc. etc. etc. We don't need a big ol' Bass Pro shop. We need to radically rethink the city plan and be careful where we drop this stadium so as not to blow it all up. NYC gets billions and billions to resurrect the WTC. What about resurrecting us?