Which word?

[sarahmichigan]

Say you were writing this sentence:
"The local VFW had raised the funds to build a baseball diamond that took up half the park's ______"

Which word sounds most natural here? Would you fill the blank with:

A. square footage
B. acreage
C. property
D. other- specify in comments

Comments

[aiela.livejournal.com]

I would actually just say "half the park" but that's why I'm an aspiring English major and not one yet. :P

[stacycat69.livejournal.com]

I would agree with that. If I had to choose, I would choose B.

[sarahmichigan.livejournal.com]

that's not a bad suggestion at all. less wordy

[dare2grok.livejournal.com]

Excellent! I wrote my response below before reading others (intentionally). I think your suggestion is best; it conveys the essential idea more efficiently (less words).

[simianpower.livejournal.com]

Definitely not A. Maybe B. Or D: open space.

[bernmarx.livejournal.com]

B or "Area"

[pstscrpt.livejournal.com]

I was thinking area, too. Of course, we may both be excessively math-oriented.

[windswept.livejournal.com]

B.

[loba.livejournal.com]

Um... not entirely sure, but I think I'd choose acreage. Baseball diamonds are not that small, and while I don't quite remember what an acre is, it seems *very odd* to measure a ballpark in square feet. YMMV.

[emobeatnik219.livejournal.com]

B. acreage

[dare2grok.livejournal.com]

I'm responding without looking at the other comments first, so that my opinion isn't influenced. Then I'll compare mine to others.

I believe the most appropriate answer is "acreage." "Square footage" IS a measure of area also but it's typical application isn't really with land area, as much as "acreage" is. "Property" isn't appropriate, because it is a more general term which, when applied to a piece of real estate, implies not only the land but also the fixed structures on or in it. There isn't an "other" term I can think of that serves as well as "acreage", to express the total land area of a piece of real estate.

It can be noted that the scale of land area could make "acreage" inappropriate. For instance, measures of large areas of land, such as those incorporated in cities, regions, states, continents, etc., are typically expressed in square miles, not acres.

[madrigalblue.livejournal.com]

Acreage, but only if the park was one acre or more (just to be on the safe side).

[lilpeace.livejournal.com]

I would say 'covered' instead of 'took up.'

'...covered half of the park.' Or, if you said the word 'park' in the previous sentence, which I'm guessing you did, then '...covered half of the _____.' Either area or property.