2009

Event Center task force meeting update; H/T – Sy

l3wis June 25, 2009 35Comments

I decided to make Sy’s comment it’s own post;

Sy says:
June 24th, 2009 at 9:14 pm e

I attended the meeting today (WED), they are stuck on the HWF/Arena site, but aren’t sure if we should build one be all end all Events Center or maybe look at two facilities. One for games/concerts and another for conventions/tradeshows/events.

Didn’t seem to occur to them that if we are talking two facilities, we should be talking two sites. They kept referring to an Arena vs. a Coliseum.

They want to figure out that question before they ask the Consultant to put together a pro-forma on whether or not the thing will fly.

They also were at the point of eliminating the idea of an indoor football venue, but didn’t want to make that call since the one major backer of that idea (I can only assume they meant Dykehouse) wasn’t in attendance.

I’ll give them credit, they are trying. But they can’t see the forest through the trees.

Some other points;

We are seriously behind the 8 ball on all phases, whether you are talking conventions, trade shows, concerts, games, etc. It’s amazing we draw what we draw. We lose or almost lose a ton of business due to lack or airline service. The person who usually signs the contract nearly craps him/herself when he looks at direct flights into SF vs. Omaha. We also lack the type & number of hotel rooms they want, the shopping & dining amenities they want, and the overall experience most of these people are accustomed too. It’s amazing we can book shit at all.

Also, they are taking their sweet time, but you can tell the sentiment of trying to please everyone is guiding the process. Again, the point of the Task Force should be to put together the best plan, whether or not it’s the most popular or it’s on the path of least resistance. They are going to put together a plan, then ask the consultant to give them the pro-forma to make it fly politically, which seems entirely bass-ackwards to me.