Sports venue mixed-use real estate districts are on the rise. A recent white paper from Klutch Sports Group, in collaboration with RBC, reports that the current pipeline of sports venue-driven mixed-use developments includes more than $100 billion of investment in 37-plus projects.

Mixed-use projects linked to sports venues — arenas, stadiums, ballparks and training facilities — have historically been characterized by what we view as an “event driven” approach. Specifically, development planned and programmed is primarily driven by events and the associated foot traffic in mind. That tends to result in the following:

While there are examples of this approach succeeding, we believe that the right model for the present/future is a “place driven” model.

One way to think about the distinction between event- and place-driven projects is in terms of sports venue anchored or........

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