Third Place

[JMV JustMyView]

reading through this alden report is hysterical. i had forgotten how damning it was. the sad thing is not much has changed

What did UL pay to get the report?

[Turbine]

The Strip used to be the Third place.

Jefferson Street is a contender sometimes.

River Ranch wanted to be the third place

[CajunVic]

La Fonda and Poets were each the Third Place in their own times.

[MelRock]

La Fonda and Poets were each the Third Place in their own times.

Ah, Tenacious Tuesdays. I was a DJ back then. Fun times!

[Clutch0364]

Have any of you been to Truist Park in Atlanta. It's this threads idea on (lots of) steriods. You can spend a weekend there and have the time of your life without ever going in the ball park.

Truist is what I think of when I envision the future of Cajun Field. More and more stadiums will go a similar route.

[zephyr]

No

I mean I knew the answer but I was asking you because that was part of his scenario he laid out. Something on school property.

[CrazyCajun]

I mean I knew the answer but I was asking you because that was part of his scenario he laid out. Something on school property.

He asked “where does that place exist in Lafayette? I can’t think of any” so I responded that it’s currently being built

[UL_Cajuns]

Not sure how close to reality this was, but it was for sure being discussed with some developers from LA around the time Napier was hired. Of course, it went no where. I'll leave it up to you guys to guess why...

We need, at a minimum, bars and restaurants, inside and outside of the new stadium, that are open for regular business hours, 52 weeks a year. We need a common area, shared tailgating area, and official school store with official school gear as well.

Agree. We always stay at the Hilton Garden Inn (The only Hotel within walking distance or even close to Cajun Field) It is always booked so you have to book way in advance. We always have to travel to go eat or go to a bar. Nothing within walking distance really. There is so much open space land where we can make this happen. You talk about would help attendance at Cajun Field if we had bars and restaurants and potentially a few more hotels within walking distance to Cajun Field!!! A Walk On's within walking distance of Cajun Field just makes too much sense!

[HoustonCajun]

Agree. We always stay at the Hilton Garden Inn (The only Hotel within walking distance or even close to Cajun Field) It is always booked so you have to book way in advance. We always have to travel to go eat or go to a bar. Nothing within walking distance really. There is so much open space land where we can make this happen. You talk about would help attendance at Cajun Field if we had bars and restaurants and potentially a few more hotels within walking distance to Cajun Field!!! A Walk On's within walking distance of Cajun Field just makes too much sense!

Seems like that would be some kind of joint venture among UL, the city of Lafayette and private capital. Since it is all on UL property, UL would first have to agree to either sell or lease the property to developers. Either way, should generate significant revenue for the university.

[HoustonCajun]

A "Third place" is a place where people hang-out that isn't work or isn't home.

Third Place Explained

Bars, clubs, barber shops, cafes, churches, parks, parlors, etc... Anchors of communities.

For decades, we as a society, have slowly stopped frequenting these places of fellowship and relationship building. Instead, large companies have presented malls and plazas as "the new town square" and it has splintered our communities. Technology hasn't helped this trend, especially with the younger generations. Consumer-centric businesses can't replace human desire to interact with like-minded strangers over a shared interest. This is why people have tried to replicate communal gatherings through on-line communication like social media, gaming and forums.

If I'm involved with UL development or promotions, my NUMBER ONE mission is transforming the athletic complex into the best Third Place option in a 10 mile radius of Reinhardt Dr.

I just finished re-reading the open thread on "2020 UL Development". Looks like all of this was available to UL back then, but was killed by Dr. S.

[RedBug58]

Throw in an “Old Tyne Grocery”. I will frequent.

[CajunRebel]

Allow me to be Debbie downer. The flip side to Truist Park is the Boardwalk in Bossier City.

When it opened ~15 years ago it was this really awesome and popular outdoor riverfront mall with nice retail and restaurants. But if you go there today it has that eerie dead mall feeling. It’s empty, most of the restaurants have closed, and most of the buildings are vacant. It’s not the type of development we’d want in Cajun Field today.

I’d love to see us develop the area around Cajun Field in some way, shape or form. But we’ve gotta be really smart about it.

The economy of Lafayette is much closer to Shreveport/Bossier than Atlanta. Also, with Truist Park, there are tons of baseball games and concerts that draw in tens of thousands of people for >100 days/yr. There are also large hotels and offices in the area that ensure lots of people will be nearby looking for places to eat/relax/shop. On the other hand, between Cajun Field and the Cajundome you’ve got maybe 15 days max where >10,000 people are in the area. That’s probably not enough to support a large scale development.