221 public parcels scored for stadium and housing suitability. 10 sites score 90/100 or above. The forest does not need to be destroyed.
Multiple public parcels score 90/100 or above for stadium suitability. The top practical candidates are 1568 Brevard Rd (123 acres, Buncombe County) and 226 Fairway Dr (111 acres, City of Asheville). 53 Birch St scored 100/100 algorithmically but is disqualified due to probable cemetery adjacency.
Location: 35.5124°N, 82.5922°W — Buncombe County-owned, south Asheville
Location: 35.5801°N, 82.5018°W — City of Asheville-owned, east Asheville
| Attribute | 1568 Brevard Rd | UNCA Forest |
|---|---|---|
| Acreage | 123.33 acres (2.7x forest) | 45.0 acres |
| Owner | County of Buncombe | State of NC (UNC System) |
| Flood Zone | Zone X (no flood risk) | 10.6 ac in FEMA floodway |
| Highway Access | 2.54 km to I-26 | 2.5+ km to I-240 |
| Transit | 7.22 km to bus route | Adjacent to Merrimon |
| Structures | None — cleared and ready | 4,500 mature trees, 120+ year forest |
| Ecosystem Services | None (already cleared) | $450K/yr stormwater, cooling, carbon |
| Stadium Score | 90 / 100 | Not scored (forest site) |
1568 Brevard Rd is nearly three times the size of the UNCA forest, already cleared, County-owned, and not in a floodplain. 226 Fairway Dr (111 ac, City-owned) offers even better highway and transit access. With 10 sites scoring 90/100, there is no shortage of alternatives. The only thing the UNCA forest offers that these sites do not is a 120-year-old hardwood ecosystem.
Note on 53 Birch St: This parcel scored 100/100 algorithmically but has been disqualified from the featured ranking. Review indicates it may adjoin or include Riverside Cemetery, making it unsuitable for stadium development. The scoring model correctly identified its parcel attributes; the limitation is that cemetery adjacency is not captured in county parcel data. With 10 sites scoring 90/100, the core finding — that suitable public alternatives exist — is unaffected.
Blue markers = stadium candidates. Green markers = housing candidates. Red marker = UNCA forest (current proposal site). Click any marker for details.
Scored from 221 public parcels (5+ acres) in Buncombe County. Scoring: area (50 pts), highway proximity (20 pts), flood zone (15 pts), cleared status (15 pts). The UNCA forest was excluded from scoring.
| Rank | Score | Acres | Owner | Address | Hwy Dist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 90 | 123.33 | County of Buncombe | 1568 Brevard Rd | 2.54 km |
| 2 | 90 | 110.97 | City of Asheville | 226 Fairway Dr | 1.66 km |
| 3 | 90 | 313.19 | Town of Weaverville Watershed | 99999 Eller Cove Rd | 2.14 km |
| 4 | 90 | 234.63 | United States of America | 99999 Ox Creek Rd | 4.38 km |
| 5 | 90 | 85.36 | United States of America | 99999 Gashes Creek Rd | 3.15 km |
| -- | 100* | 48.96 | City of Asheville | 53 Birch St (disqualified — cemetery) | 1.91 km |
| 6 | 90 | 72.75 | United States of America | 99999 Elk Mtn Scenic Hwy | 2.04 km |
| 7 | 90 | 64.95 | City of Asheville | 498 Azalea Rd | 2.67 km |
| 8 | 90 | 47.49 | State of NC (UNC System) | 70 Nut Hill Rd | 3.13 km |
| 9 | 90 | 29.21 | City of Asheville | 99999 Alexander Dr | 0.82 km |
10 sites score 90 or above (53 Birch St disqualified due to cemetery adjacency). The top candidates — 1568 Brevard Rd (123 ac, County) and 226 Fairway Dr (111 ac, City) — offer far more land than the 25–30 acres a stadium actually requires.
Scored on area (30 pts), transit proximity (30 pts), flood zone (20 pts), and neighborhood fit (20 pts). Transit access is weighted higher than for stadiums because residents use transit daily.
| Rank | Score | Acres | Owner | Address | Transit Dist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 100 | 25.98 | Buncombe County | 211 French Broad Ave | 0.27 km |
| 2 | 100 | 22.35 | Asheville Housing Authority | 100 Atkinson St | 0.01 km |
| 3 | 100 | 21.34 | City of Asheville | 32 Buchanan Pl | 0.44 km |
| 4 | 100 | 20.23 | State of NC (UNC System) | 165 Campus Dr | 0.25 km |
| 5 | 100 | 19.22 | Buncombe County | 125 Hill St | 0.18 km |
| 6 | 100 | 17.82 | Asheville City Board of Ed. | 544 Kimberly Ave | 0.31 km |
| 7 | 100 | 13.46 | City of Asheville | 34 Pearson Dr | 0.49 km |
| 8 | 100 | 11.20 | Asheville City Board of Ed. | 60 Ridgelawn Rd | 0.39 km |
| 8 | 95 | 9.93 | City of Asheville | 336 Hilliard Ave | 0.12 km |
| 9 | 95 | 9.68 | State of NC (UNC System) | 456 Merrimon Ave | 0.10 km |
8 sites score a perfect 100 for housing. These are transit-adjacent, publicly owned, and not in floodplains. Combined, the top 10 housing sites offer 171 acres — nearly 4x the UNCA forest. Housing does not need to go on a forest.
Buncombe County has 221 publicly owned parcels of 5 acres or more, totaling 43,366 acres. The UNCA forest represents just 0.1% of available public land.
| Owner Category | Parcels | Total Acres | Avg. Size (ac) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buncombe County | 66 | 2,589 | 39.2 |
| UNCA / UNC System | 56 | 4,769 | 85.2 |
| City of Asheville | 47 | 5,257 | 111.8 |
| Federal | 17 | 29,519 | 1,736.4 |
| Other Public (Housing Auth., School Board, Towns) | 35 | 1,232 | 35.2 |
| Total | 221 | 43,366 | — |
UNCA itself owns 56 parcels totaling 4,769 acres in Buncombe County. The 45-acre forest represents less than 1% of UNCA's total land holdings. Many of these parcels are already cleared and infrastructure-served. The claim that the forest is the "only available site" is contradicted by UNCA's own parcel inventory.
UNCA already owns 56+ acres of cleared, infrastructure-served land in the Asheville area. These parcels could accommodate housing, athletic facilities, or mixed-use development without touching the forest.
The largest contiguous cleared parcel under UNCA control. Previously graded for development. Could accommodate 400+ housing units or athletic facilities with minimal site preparation.
Urban infill site with excellent transit access. Previously developed, so no environmental clearing required. Suitable for mixed-use residential or campus expansion.
At the intersection of Merrimon Ave and W.T. Weaver Blvd, adjacent to existing campus. Connected to all utilities. Prime location for student or workforce housing.
Already developed as athletic facilities. Could be redeveloped for a modern stadium complex if UNCA determines athletics infrastructure is a priority, without any forest clearing.
These four sites alone total 56+ acres of cleared, UNCA-owned land — more than the entire 45-acre forest. All have existing infrastructure. None require clearing mature hardwood forest. The question is not whether alternatives exist, but why they are not being considered.
A three-way arrangement that gives every stakeholder what they actually need: UNCA gets revenue and development, the city gets a forest park, residents get housing, and the ecosystem survives.
| Stakeholder | Stadium on Forest (A) | Land Swap (E-H) |
|---|---|---|
| UNCA | Revenue from stadium P3 (+$18.6M NPV) but $204M construction risk, reputational damage | Revenue from land sale/lease (+$15.5M–$24.2M NPV), no construction risk, enhanced reputation |
| City / Public | $29M subsidy + $15M infra costs, $0 tax revenue, loss of ecosystem services (-$46M NPV) | Forest park, property tax revenue from housing, ecosystem services preserved (+$43.3M NPV) |
| Developer | $204M construction on difficult site, -$149.5M NPV, floodway complications | Housing on cleared, flat, infrastructure-served sites, +$14.7M NPV |
| Community | Loses forest, gains tax-exempt stadium, 137% increase in heat vulnerability | Keeps forest park, gains housing supply, maintains cooling and stormwater services |
| Ecosystem | 85% canopy cleared, 8,673 Mg CO2 released, 43.7 years to recover | 100% preserved, continued sequestration, habitat connectivity maintained |
The land swap is not a compromise — it is a Pareto improvement. Every stakeholder is better off (or at least no worse) than under the stadium-on-forest plan. The only thing lost is the specific location of the stadium, which is the lowest-value decision in the entire analysis. Where you build matters less than whether you destroy an irreplaceable ecosystem to do it.