In 1977, when the Centre Pompidou opened for business in the Beaubourg neighborhood of the 4th Arrondissement of Paris, its all-steel, "inside out" design marked a radical departure from the look of anything else in the City of Lights.
Early reviews were not kind. The world of traditional architecture recoiled in horror at the sight of what critic Martin Filler described as "essentially a gigantic shoebox enmeshed in miles of mostly useless painted metal ducts, pipework, and scaffolding," while the inimitable Robert Hughes of Time magazine called it "a shining example of how vulgar official French taste in the 1970s could become, in its efforts to project a forward-looking image."
OK, so you can't please everyone. This vagabond reporter showed up in Paris just a year after the opening of the Pompidou, when it still had that new building smell, and got a kick out of wandering the gigantic beehive of galleries, shops, theaters, and exterior elevations.
Over time, the French public grew to embrace the Centre Pompidou as a cultural landmark and civic asset representing an ultra-modern nod to whatever the future might bring. For a bonus, the place also became famous for housing one of world's largest collections of modern art. Last September, however, the massive structure was closed for a second major renovation in its half century of vibrant life, a project that is due for completion in 2030.
Stadiums have become the Pompidous of the sports world, and racetracks, at their best, fit neatly among them. The latest to emerge is the new Belmont Park, dedicated on the morning of Sept. 18 by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, whose support went a long way toward the realization of the $500 million dream.
Racing fans and somber historians have tended to dwell on the many racetrack closures over the past half century because of flood, fire, and economic famine. Suffolk Downs, Hollywood Park, Calder Race Course, Rockingham Park, Bay Meadows, Sportsman's Park—all gone with barely a trace. Arlington Park and Garden State Park were burned, rebuilt, then closed for good. Birmingham Turf Club burst on the scene then fizzled. Golden Gate Fields was abandoned and sold to the state.
For some reason, the fact-checkers at Fox Sports allowed their on-air commentators to anoint the new Belmont Park as the first "ground up" racetrack grandstand built in the United States in nearly 40 years. Math is not my strong suit, but such a statement would seem to overlook the complete recreation of Gulfstream Park (2006) as an adjunct to a modern shopping center, Emerald Downs (1996) as a replacement for Longacres 20 miles down the road, and Del Mar, where the Depression-era grandstand was razed in 1991 and a new structure built on the old footprint opened in two phases, 1992-93.
Viewed from afar, the look of the new Belmont could not be more dramatically different from the old grandstand, just as the Centre Pompidou flew in the face of the architectural style of Paris Opera or Montmartre. There will be grumbling from those who long for the ivy-covered brick facades, the intimate walking ring, and the wooded backyard of the old layout. It's hard to believe, though, that the empty, cavernous reaches of old Belmont will be missed, depressing in their vacancy for so many years.
Joe Harper, the Del Mar CEO who lorded over the construction of the modern grandstand, noted similarities in his project and the new Belmont, except for the fact that his cost $80 million three decades ago.
"We were ready for complaints," Harper said. "That's expected of racetrackers. We figured folks would get used to the new building eventually. If they knew what bad shape the old grandstand was in, they would have wondered why we didn't tear it down long before. I'll never forget the day one of our catering carts backed into what was supposed to be a support wall and went right through it. The only thing holding it up were the old adobe bricks."
Like Belmont Park, Del Mar occupies land owned by the state. Unlike Belmont Park, however, the new Del Mar design tried to capture the California mission-style architecture that was suggested in elements of the original building, while Belmont went 180 degrees toward modernity.
New York racing also had the luxury of operating two other tracks that could absorb the Belmont dates while construction carried on for three years.
"It really confused people when we had the place halfway done that first year," Harper said, referring to the 1992 meet that greeted customers with a combination of the old and new. "I spent $10,000 to commission a sand sculpture model of the finished grandstand for display in the infield, where people could get a look up close. My board of directors thought I was nuts, but it worked, giving folks a three-dimensional idea of what the place would look like.
The old Del Mar grandstand featured a cantilevered roof shading the stadium-style seating and topped only by lightweight structures housing officials and media. The new version was in the multilevel modern school that required considerably more support to conform to earthquake safety standards.
"The support columns in the box seat sections were wrapped in stucco to give them a nicer look," Harper said. "Only problem was, people couldn't see around them. We learned our lessen and left the columns from the second phase bare, which helped a little."
Del Mar had to wait 24 years after the completion of its new grandstand, weather the closure of Hollywood Park, and widen its turf course before playing host to its first Breeders' Cup in 2017. The new Belmont Park will host the Cup next year, barely six months after the completion date of the entire project. That means the jury can't stay out for long if something needs to be changed.
Paul Roberts of the London-based Turnberry Consulting firm specializes in development strategy with a focus on sport. He could just as easily be talking about the new Belmont Park when he turned his attention to the striking recreation of ParisLongchamp Racecourse—located across town from the Centre Pompidou—upon its unveiling in 2018. New Longchamp is as different from the old structure as is new Belmont from the old.
"The key thing is what is done from here," Roberts wrote at the time. "It takes five years or so to get the programming of a new racecourse settled and effective. The change is so dramatic in what is a conservative sport that it is unrealistic to expect perfection in the short term."
