Unless you count a gas station, a small family-owned restaurant and a car wash as a thriving district.

It's a different picture than many envisioned when the baseball field opened in 1994 and the Pacific Coast League's Beavers became the Buzz (now the Stingers). Salt Lake City built the ballpark over a blighted Derks Field with the hopes of revitalizing the area around 1300 South and West Temple.

Little has changed, though. The neighborhood looks much like it did 11 years ago. Several boarded-up buildings on the east side are for sale.

"It's the same as when it was Derks Field," says Ron Johnson, who has lived across the street from the field for 35 years.

A light-rail stop opened nearby in 1999, providing easy access to the ballpark and the area, but there is little to entice people to step off the train unless it's a game night. And since setting a PCL attendance record during its inaugural season, the team has seen the number of fans decline steadily. Last season's average game-night attendance fell below 6,500.

Salt Lake City Councilman Dale Lambert acknowledges the stadium did little to lure other ventures. "It may be in a location that is very difficult."

Lambert says the key to such spillover development is forming and following a larger plan. Simply plopping a stadium in a stagnant area and hoping it draws businesses are not enough.

Corradini says she's not surprised at the lack of development around Franklin Covey Field. She wanted the ballpark downtown. Even so, she maintains the stadium was worth the subsidy. "It's a phenomenal amenity because it gives families [low-cost] entertainment."

Jazz owner Larry Miller recently bought the Stingers. That means the pros who manage the big-league Delta Center also will oversee Franklin Covey.

Scott Williams, the Delta Center's general manager, plans to stage 100 events a year at Franklin Covey, but acknowledges the difficulty in adding another concert venue to the Salt Lake Valley.

Still, he says, the new ownership will "breathe new life back into baseball" and bring back the fans.

"You don't take 10,000 people into a half of a block without having an impact," Williams says. "There will be people who will start doing some things around that. I don't think it will be necessarily because of [the stadium]. It may be part of it."

Public contribution: $18.6 million, including grants from the state and Salt Lake County and a bond by SLC's Redevelopment Agency.

Private contribution: About $7 million.

Events per year: 72 baseball games, averages three other events.

Number of people employed: 20 full time, up to 70 on game nights.

Number of seats: 12,500.

Other amenities: Luxury suites.