The recent Philadelphia Eagles home game with the Minnesota Vikings was postponed not necessarily because the NFL expected a lot of snow on the field at game time, but because of concerns about fans getting to and from the game safely. If someone got killed in a car wreck en route, there could be thousands of dollars in medical and funeral expenses that wouldn't be going into the NFL's coffins—er, coffers.
How much thought goes, from either side, into locating stadiums and sports arenas near public transportation? On the one hand, Madison Square Garden is literally only a few feet (and vertical feet at that) away from Penn Station. On the other hand, Jerry Jones's Cowboys Stadium seems to be about as far as you can get from public transportation in any major metropolitan area in the U.S., if not the world.
It would seem to me that locating outdoor stadiums in cold-weather areas close to public transit would be quite desirable in order to avoid situations like the one in Philadelphia, where the safety of spectators traveling to and from the event could be an issue during a winter storm. This logic would also seem to recommend the existence of rail, rather than bus (including BRT or "quality bus" or whatever they call it), transit, since buses are subject to many of the same issues as other vehicles negotiating icy roads.
However, it is not enough to have stadiums near subway stations: stations must also be located wherever potential spectators live. You're not going to take the subway to the game if it doesn't also go by your house.
In the Bay Area, BART serves Oakland Coliseum and Oracle Arena, both of which are about a 5-minute or less walk away from the Coliseum BART station (and much of the walk is on a pedestrian bridge), while AT&T Park is served by S.F. Muni streetcars (not the cable cars) and buses. I'm not sure what kind of transit serves Candlestick Park or the Cow Palace; I'm sure that at least a few bus lines run to each. I don't know what the transit service will be like if and when the A's and/or 49ers get new stadiums, however.
How much thought goes, from either side, into locating stadiums and sports arenas near public transportation? On the one hand, Madison Square Garden is literally only a few feet (and vertical feet at that) away from Penn Station. On the other hand, Jerry Jones's Cowboys Stadium seems to be about as far as you can get from public transportation in any major metropolitan area in the U.S., if not the world.
It would seem to me that locating outdoor stadiums in cold-weather areas close to public transit would be quite desirable in order to avoid situations like the one in Philadelphia, where the safety of spectators traveling to and from the event could be an issue during a winter storm. This logic would also seem to recommend the existence of rail, rather than bus (including BRT or "quality bus" or whatever they call it), transit, since buses are subject to many of the same issues as other vehicles negotiating icy roads.
However, it is not enough to have stadiums near subway stations: stations must also be located wherever potential spectators live. You're not going to take the subway to the game if it doesn't also go by your house.
In the Bay Area, BART serves Oakland Coliseum and Oracle Arena, both of which are about a 5-minute or less walk away from the Coliseum BART station (and much of the walk is on a pedestrian bridge), while AT&T Park is served by S.F. Muni streetcars (not the cable cars) and buses. I'm not sure what kind of transit serves Candlestick Park or the Cow Palace; I'm sure that at least a few bus lines run to each. I don't know what the transit service will be like if and when the A's and/or 49ers get new stadiums, however.
