Would that include those little voices inside my head that keep telling me to do bad thing?

quote:

Originally posted by two2manycats:
Hold it there, sweetcakes! It does matter where this arena gets built. Place it at the Fairgrounds and its economic impact will be nil. Place it downtown and it could go far towards ensuring the long-term vitality of downtown Louisville.

Couldn't agree more! There is so much more potential to having it downtown. Put it at the Fairgrounds or off I-65 and once a game is over, everyone is going to drive home. Put it downtown and bars, restaurants, shops, museums, etc. would all benefit.

Like ok fellas gimme a break okkkkk.?! I only said for them to shut up and get it done already. I didn't focus on where just to get it done. Talk is cheap and weak. Action is rich and strong. Did I just say that?

I think that the State of Kentucky is trying to stick it to Jefferson County like they always do when it comes to spending money. We sure do send our share to Frankfort but we don't get much of it back. I wish everyone would get fed up with it and express their thought to our representatives in Frankfort.

I don't know of anyone who savors the thought of battling the traffic at the State Fair grounds at it stands now. How much worse will it be when that is compounded with all these U of L fans trying to exit via ring road at the same time. Contrast that to the possibility of making a nice evening of it with a stop at a bar or restaurant in downtown Louisville and I think the choice is perfectly clear.

If we're going to spend this humongous amount of money, let's get some economic benefit from it. An arena downtown could be a catalyst to a strong and financially vibrant downtown.

found For example, Columbus’ downtown mall, just a few miles from the Arena District, is failing and didn’t seem to receive any boost from the new arena.

“The theory is that people only have so many entertainment dollars to spend,” Curry said. “Restaurants near the arena will prosper, but those further away won’t be helped and may even decline.

“It’s not exactly a zero-sum game, but a new arena is also not a pot of gold for the whole city that is just there for the taking.”

That’s why Curry said he is skeptical of those who believe a new baseball stadium in Washington will be a boon to the community.

After months of controversy, D.C. officials brokered a settlement in late December that will allow a new baseball stadium to be built. While the numbers aren’t firm, a significant portion of the cost will be borne by the city.

Curry is skeptical of how much value the city will get from its expenditures.

“A new stadium is not going to change life in Washington very much. Some people will be proud of having the new team, but for most people it won’t make any difference to their daily lives at all,” Curry said.

“That's why you don’t want to divert hundreds of millions of dollars of public funds that might be needed for other essential services. For instance, the mayor of Columbus is cutting the budget for neighborhood health clinics. One is already closed and the others are cutting back services. How could Columbus justify spending millions for a stadium when it can’t keep all of its health clinics open?”

Regardless of what happens in Washington, the issue of how to pay for sports stadiums is not going to go away, Curry said. State and local expenditures for stadiums and arenas escalated from $700 million in the mid-1970s to more than $2 billion in the early 1990s.

And, too often, city leaders begin to value sports venues for what they represent rather than what they cost. Leaders don’t want to lose their sports teams, no matter what it may mean for public expenditures.

“Columbus can serve as an example of how cities can get their stadiums with minimal costs to taxpayers,” Curry said. “I’m not sure how many cities will follow the example, but more cities should at least consider their options.”

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Contact: Tim Curry, (614) 292-7560; Curry.6@osu.edu
Written by Jeff Grabmeier, (614) 292-8457; Grabmeier.1@osu.edu
this after searching cost of a new arena