I'd like to know where they plan on putting this event?
There are quite a few places we could host it. As far as the public knows, it hasn't been decided yet. I haven't seen much discussion about this, nor have I seen an analysis of potential locations anywhere, so I'll do a bit to fill that gap~
Some things to be considered when looking at potential locations include transportation infrastructure, how the Expo facilities would be used afterwards, and acquisition of the site it's hosted on. It would also ideally be adjacent to some parkland and/or a body of water to showcase (one of the things) that makes the metro great.
Ford Plant site: Hosting it here would require preventing development for 8 years, a tough sell. Unless something is arranged relatively soon, this site will be spoken for. It would be on the Mississippi, which is a plus. An additional push towards the Riverview corridor being LRT and/or receiving other additional improvements could result from this location.
Arden Hills site: Not holding as prominent of a location as the Ford site, it's safe to say this can easily be reserved for the Expo. However, that also requires a greater degree of infrastructure improvements, which would see less use afterwards, and reduces the prospects for re-use of the Expo grounds.
State Fairgrounds: This would probably mean merging the two events, with the State Fair's daily attendance being roughly equal to the World Expo's projected daily attendance, and with the latter's end date being close to the former's start date. This could be used to justify building a higher capacity transit service on Snelling ave and/or Como ave. If this winds up as just an upgrade of the fairgrounds, and is only used seasonally, then there is that opportunity cost to hosting it here.
South Loop: The land will be available, and the blue line runs here already (as well as the pending Riverview line). This would be right by both the MOA and MSP, which can be both helpful, yet very
suburban (not ideal for such a large event). Something could also be potentially done involving the Minnesota River area, though that is far from certain. The site would probably be cannibalized by the MOA afterwards, for better/worse, likely as agreed to beforehand as a condition for using the site, potentially with the MOA contributing to an extent.
Freeway Cap: Unlike some other spots, this land would be a guarentee if the cap is built for this. A great location, being near both of our current light rail lines, as well as the U of M and downtown Minneapolis. The new Viking's Stadium, which will probably come to symbolize the metro (due to the superbowl, among other things), is also nearby, prominently visible. The freeway cap would need to be larger (and thus more expensive and complex) than the design currently floating around, as up to 61 acres (perhaps more including related amenities) are needed. The optimal placement of the larger freeway cap is also something to be determined.
Golf courses: This idea came to mind after learning of a golf course in Eagan, being sacrificed on the altar of development for a higher tax base. One of our many golf courses could serve as the site of our World Expo. Looking around the metro, three that looked especially promising were the Highland National Golf Course, the Hiawatha Golf Course, and the Como Golf Course.
The
Hiawatha Golf Course, and Hiawatha Park, together encircle Lake Hiawatha, which could potentially be used in an interesting way (not that I've come up with anything beyond building some sort of iconic tower in the middle, yet). Lake Nokomis is also nearby. The 46th St blue line station ranges from ~.7 mi to ~1.4 mi away from the area. While it would be good to bring some sort of higher capacity transit service right up to the Expo, there doesn't seem to be any immediately evident corridors for this nearby (that is, excluding extending the red line up Cedar ave to Minneapolis, which certainly could be made to work, but wouldn't do much to address our longer-term transit needs).
The
Como Golf Course is next to lake Como, and could benefit from the already existing Zoo & Conservatory. It ranges between 1.5-2 mi north of the green line, between .5-1 mi east of Snelling ave, and is immediately adjacent to Como ave. Like at the fairgrounds location, this location could prompt the construction of a transit lines along Como ave and/or Snelling ave. It could also still be coordinated to an extent with the state fair, both during the Expo, and potentially afterwards (a secondary fairgrounds location, connected to the primary fairgrounds via light rail along Como ave, as one possibility), remaining infrastructure/facilities allowing.
The
Highland Golf Course site isn't directly adjacent to a body of water, unlike the other two. This site could prompt the construction of a transit line along Snelling ave, and/or the Riverview corridor. Since there is already planning of some nature underway for both of these, the potential to synergize transit projects with the World Expo is strongest here. This site lies between the Minneapolis, St Paul, and the MOA/MSP, allowing timely travel to any of the 3. Some portions of this lot along Snelling aren't available, being occupied by some water towers and a high school.
I would personally prefer either the Freeway cap option, or the Como Golf Course Option.
Thoughts/opinions? Preferred locations? Other potential locations? Additional Pros/cons/details about listed sites? Inaccuracies? Also curious as to how the Expo grounds would be optimally reused. This topic could probably make a decent streets.mn post if someone were to write something more consistent/coherent.
prolly should get some sleep~