In today's Toledo Blade a few things become pretty clear.
It's obvious there is some concern that this area could sustain two arenas. It's also obvious that the Lucas County Commissioners or at least Pete Gerken seems to think that UT should do what he feels is best for Toledo as opposed to what is best for UT. Given one of the stipulations for the donation to UT that it was to be used for their facility only and not one downtown, we are at an impass.
Yet, why spend taxpayer dollars to place us in a situation where we are going to be competing with UT? If the goal is to have an arena what better way to have one then to have someone else pay for it to be built.
Even if UT only attracts half of the events planned at the proposed new downtown arena that would have a huge impact, especially if the plans for an arena football team don't work out or worse yet if it's not something Lucas County residents embrace if a team is found. The Hockey team situation has some serious questions since most leagues have rules that Not for Profit Corporations can not own them. The plan is to have the new downtown arena ran by an NPC. Without a hockey team and without an arena football team what would the downtown arena have?
Those are questions I think needs to be answered before the first property is bought to raze. Shouldn't negotiations be happening with teams right now to demonstrate there is interest? Shouldn't questions concerning NPC ownership be addressed now? Shouldn't a detailed market survey include UT's new plans so that there is an accurate picture of how much usage a downtown arena can expect?
Dr. Lloyd Jacobs stated:
he's "having a lot of unreasonable conversations, not a lot of reasonable ones" about the downtown arena.
Maybe it's time to become reasonable....
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8 comments:
Lisa - I'll be talking about the unanswered questions on WSPD Wednesday...if you'd like to call in with these, that'd be great!
I'll try to be near a radio, Maggie.
UT has to do what is right for UT, and not kowtow to the whims of politicians.
As much as I might prefer that more money get spent on academics (especially starving doctoral students), UT needs to be able to compete with the better athletic schools.
Ultimately, strong athletic programs help build a school into a national name.
(Note: historymike might prefer, in a lofty vision of a perfect world, one where sports and academics aren't forced to compete for funds, but he doesn't live in such a world)
It appears that UT and the County will attempt to build (an/or renovate) two (2) smaller arenas (less than 10,000 capacity) which will be unable to attract the top flight concerts and athletic events that require a larger capacity to be economically successful. If we do that, we might as well simply retain what we have already (which isn't much)!
If you build it, they will come.
I used to really think that Kurt, but it takes more than just that. You have to actually have something for them to come to.
I remember Portside, it had such promise and it was going to be a huge part of the downtown revitalization. The Erie Street Market has never lived up to it's potential. I look at the Rec Center and imagine the possibilities it could have for this region. Then I wonder, if spending that much for a downtown arena should be a priority.
I'll try to listen today Maggie and I'd also like to live in Mike's visionary world where a salutatorian would get a better scholarship than a C average student who could play basketball.
:-)
Why should UT bow to the wishes of the local politicans? The local politicians (and the daily local with union problems) historically have trated UT like dirt. They treat Owens Community College and BGSU (both of which are NOT located in Toledo proper) a lot better than UT. Thank you Dr. Jacobs for standing up for UT.
I don't blame UT for its decision to renovate Savage Hall, and I applaud UT for going out of its way to distance itself from the local politicans (who really don't give a rat a** about UT).
Moving the UT arena downtown makes absolutely no sense.
Nothing is going to revitalize the downtown until the entire region has a healthy economy, and that may well be a generation or more.
I remember when it was difficult to find a parking space or a seat to eat lunch in downtown Toledo. Sigh.
This project is doomed to fail, as long as egos remain involved.
We will likely end up with two competing demi-arenas, instead of one spectacular venue.
Sigh. . .
And, Maggie did her usual fabulous job on WSPD again.
She is a natural ;-)
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