I was going to wait until Monday to post my prediction in case of new developments this week in sponsorships, but I think even if something like that surfaces, it will only make a small dent in the vote.
The more people I talk to about the Events Center, the less positive things I hear. And I think this last push by BIN is too little, too late.
I have said all along we don’t really need a new EC.
I think councilor Jamison’s PLAN ‘B’ as he calls it, would be the best option for the city right now. Which includes refurbishing the Arena, turning the CC into a rec center that ties into Howard Wood field and building a new CC downtown next to Cherapa. It would cost us millions less and would accomplish the needs of the city right now.
As for the EC vote, there has been a part of me that believed it had a good chance of passing, but that is slowly withering. While I voted NO, there is still a part of me that would just like to see the damn thing pass so we don’t have another 12 months of debate before next November’s election. Huether vowed not to drop the issue if it fails next Tuesday, and I believe him.
I think that the ‘NO’ people need to offer an alternative and I hope councilor Jamison leads that charge right out of the gate if this fails. We have a lot of brilliant people in this city that have great ideas and they should offer alternatives if this fails. Because like I said above, failure will only result in another year of wrangling.
Why do I think the Events Center will fail? There is a myriad of small reasons why people will vote against the EC; Location, funding, need, insufficient airport, inadequate lodging. But what is the biggest reason?
The economy, stupid.
It is in the tank, and will be for a long time. Taxpayers are frustrated that a part of their tax dollars that are supposed to go towards roads and sewers and other non glamourous things is being spent making bond investors rich for an entertainment facility we don’t need and one that most likely won’t be visited by most of our residents.
I think voter turnout will be high I predict between 19,000 – 23,000 votes
I still think the vote will be close, but I am going to give the edge to the NO vote, this will fail by 52%.
From my unofficial street poll I predict the vote will be more like 66% NO. I like the idea of overbuilding the present arena. We need a winter place for anti-city and occupy wall street demonstrations.
I stick with “no” to any proposal to build including “Plan B.” Plan B will get us Chumbawumba, Harvey Danger and a Hanson reunion along with the other one hit wonder bands of the 90s. As well as d-list country acts that I cannot name since I do not listen to poppy sounding hillbilly music. Not to mention another crappy minor league pseudo-sport team like lacrosse that will probably show up.
Nice, brom…and exactly what I’ve been saying all along.
I proudly voted no. There is another factor people vote no….the self glossing “leader”……..
I agree with the CCommander. There is a certain percentage of voters who “just say no” to anything “big government” actually, you could drop the “big” from that term and it’d be the same people. By my reckoning it’s in the range of 23-28% of the voters. These are folks who will NEVER vote in favor of any idea that involves government spending of any kind.
just wondering, how accurate have your predictions been in the past?
scott – Not very. The only political prediction I have ever nailed was ‘Huether vs. Staggers’
While I may be way off on the percentages and voter turnout I do think it will fail.
Hoping this goes the way of the Rec Center vote.
Of course, politiians were still talking about doing it months after the Rec Center was shot down 2-1.
Would I like to see a new Events Center? Absolutely. Is now the time to build one? Absolutely Not.
We should have built one when first started hearing noises about it back in 96/97. The Economy was booming, we could have gotten mad naming cash from Gateway (who was paying to put their name on anything anyone asked them too) and it would have been paid off by now(being that it would have cost MUCH less to build and would would have been more modestly constructed than what our current mayor is looking into) and if not making a profit, at least breaking even.
Next year, the year after, or farther out it might be the time to build a new one. But right no, no.
As much as I want to see the one hit wonders, professional lacrosse teams play and maybe – dare I hope- major league dodge-ball until the economy improves and the local city government can be trusted to fix the streets and the sewers it needs to be a no vote.
I may have made my prediction too early, I may remake it closer to the vote (I got my calendar mixed up and thought the vote was next Tuesday, I was wrong).
I have followed the EC discussion since 2005….including attending 13 months of 2009 Task Force meetings and all 18 of Mike’s updates.
I have been out “on the street” talking to other citizens about this issue for the past two years. Based on those many conversations, I have never wavered in believing that this would go down to defeat.
The two issues that the Task Force never resolved were:
**Who are your tenants?
** How will both the capital and operating costs be funded?
It is of no surprise to me that these remain the two most important voter issues to this day!!
Scott, I do NOT believe that Mike will openly push for this to re-surface any time soon. If this is defeated, I think that he knows that he has spent more than enough “political capital” on this issue!!
Referring to Greg Jamison’s Plan B……I have never heard him say that this would go to a public vote…that part has always troubled me!!
If this is defeated, I believe that it would be a serious mistake for any entity to push for this or any other plan in the near future…..voters (both pro and con) are SICK AND TIRED OF TALKING ABOUT THIS ISSUE!!!!
CR – Depends how close the vote is. If it fails by 5 points or more, you may be right. But if it is a squeaker, I guarantee it will resurface next yer.
Mr Mayor-
I just listened to your 40 minute rant on the Sports Buffet on ESPN 99.1. During that broadcast you said the blogs are making up LIES about you, both now and during your run for mayor. I know you read these “Lyin’ pages” Mr Mayor, both here and at Jennifers blog. Give us just one example of these LIES you speak of. Just what I thought. Yiou can’t. Yer’ a weasel mr mayor.
Poly – You need to call me. If you don’t have my number, shoot me an email quick and I will give it to you.
I’m a little peeved about this, and if Mike wants to play those games, I am going to request an Events Center debate with him where he can call me a liar to my face.
Ohhhhhhhhh its on now!!!!!!!
For those of us who can’t handle the subtle wit of the hosts of our local ESPN affiliate, what exactly was said?
BREAKING NEWS: http://www.siouxfalls.org/News/2011/October/25/potty_parity
Really?!? This is what it’s come to? Really?1? Wonder if they’ll have that golfball toilet from Handy Man? I half-jokingly predicted this would be Round 2 after last week’s “press conference” on spectator seating in the new EC.
But, please pardon my ignorance, I thought this project was all about “flat floor space”? What’s that got to do with how many shitters are in the upper concourse?
Just once I’d like to see our local media question the crap being served from city hall or, better yet, say “screw you” to the mayor and his pseudo-news conferences! This is beyond ridiculous!
So they’ve basically given up on selling this as a way for getting those shows that won’t come here anyway and moved to seat sizes and bathroom stall counts?
I hope no one shows up to that. I betcha all night somewhere at some cheesy bar these scoundrels have been striving and stressing ways to get people who normally wouldn’t care to vote to go. So now they are trying to appeal to the vanity of women.
l3wis, Could we buy you a plane ticket for the 9th so you can stay on the Mayor’s ass wherever he goes for this vacation? I can picture him looking up from his newspaper and seeing you across the seats in the waiting area of the airport. (I think he’s using the Omaha airport to save a few bucks and catch a show while he’s forced to go there).
Give the man credit-MMM is trying to overwhelm us with BS including potty counts and erroneous numbers but I believe the SF voter is in tune and this will be voted down. I think voter turnout will actually be over 25K and the final tally will be about 56% opposed. I think the two ladies complaining about not getting Justin Bieber in Sioux Falls actually worked against BIN…I mean…who the hell wants to see Justin Bieber?
My prediction is it ‘ll pass. BIN has been out there since damn near.. July?? The mayors been doing all his citizen-funded rallies… something like 247 of ’em. The opposition was way late to the party… has a very unenthusastic, disorganized leader… went w/ a pretty generic selling point… and have zero money.
At this point… it’s all about getting out the vote. BIN has probably been focused on that from thejump… since polls say most peoplwe favor this thing… all they needed to do was get them idiots to vote. Meanwhile that “No Network” is handing out flyers… still trying to make a case to vote no. WTF?? They shoulda been handing out flyers 5 months ago… not 2 wks before the ovte!!!!!
58%-42%… we’ll be getti8ng a new money-sucking pipedream/ Book it sweettits.
Anybody hear this thing about the mayor at a meeting with the realtos assoc last week and he came off like a jerk or something? Somebody get Tonto to put his ear to the ground on that one.
He acted like a jerk? Get outta here!
For those of us who can’t handle the subtle wit of the hosts of our local ESPN affiliate, what exactly was said?
I like listening to Mike & Mike in the morning along with Colin Cowherd. The Sports Buffet happened to be on my radio dial while the good mayor was being tossed softballs by the local radio jock, Jeff Harkness I believe. It was quite sickening. The good mayor mentioned how much he hated the last two weeks of any campaign. Those two weeks bring out the blogs, didn’t say who, but can print anything they want without having to back up their wild claims with the facts. The standard MO for the good mayor on this topic. Rumors, innuendo, and the lies line he tosses around while nailing himself to the cross hawking the sympathy vote.
He also spoke of how great it will be to host events like Pheasants Forever. Thousands of guys with a shotgun in one hand and money to burn in other flocking to SF to help drive our economic engine. Never mind that for a myriad of reasons, Pheasants Forever will never come here.
He spoke of how proud we will be as a community to see networks like ESPN broadcasting national sporting events from our new McArena. Never mind the events he speak of are NCAA basketball regional tournaments that won’t consider McArena’s smaller than 16,000 seats. The kicker in that one is 80% of those games are played in a sea of empty seats anyway. One of the hosts then went on a rant about Sioux Falls being considered for a Continental Baketball Association franchise a dozen years ago, but lost out in the bidding because our building was too small. During that rant, the host forgot to mention the CBA filed for bankruptcy the following season.
He spoke of how our current arena was designed in a time when it only appealed to men and basketball. A new McArena would consider the needs of women who won’t have to stand in long lines to powder their noses after a justin beiber concert.
I’ll give Harkness credit tho. He did ask some probing questions, most from the article Ellis wrote. When asked how we can compete with Sioux City to attract acts when the Tyson EC is subsidized, the good mayor said they subsidize as a loss leader to attract big acts. Sioux City, he said, accepts a subsidy on the facility for the greater good of the city. Paraphrasing, the good mayor said we are proud hard working South Dakotans who can whoop Iwegians at anything, including attracting event filling acts. “Bring It On Sioux City” the good mayor yelled like a high school cheerleader. Did he answer the question HOW? No. Never mind that in eight years of existence, the Tyson EC can’t name a handful of acts our own arena could not have accomadated.
Don’t fool yourself tho, as a whole, the sports crowd in Sioux Falls thinks we need a new McArena. I was at sporting event earlier this year where Stu Whitney was allowed time to rant about the needs of a McArena. Nearly all those there, a fairly sizeable crowd, agreed a new center was needed. God knows why. These are the same sports buffs who go watch so called “pro” teams at the arena where 4 in 5 seats sit empty on a consistant basis. They think that somehow having a 12,000 seat arena is going to magically fill the seats with out of towners who have a hole in their pockets eager to add millions to our sales tax roles. These sports buffs might know who the third string tight end for the Jacksonville Jaguars is, but they don’t know squat about local entertainment issues and the real need for a McArena. This sports crowd is the group of people who could make a difference. But will they go to the polls, or be too busy juggling their fantasy football lineups? I’m thinkin’ the latter. Or at least I hope this ill informed group stays home.
Scott Hudson.
A couple of weeks ago, one of Country Westerns reigning superstars played at the arena. I’m sure the good mayor and the Argus both would have let us know if that superstar “EVENT” had to turn people away. Yet, not a single word about attendance. What you know about that?
Poly – If you’re talking about Miranda Lambert, the concert did NOT sell out. In fact, she’s intentionally playing smaller venues (like Arena’s in Sioux Falls and Rapid City) versus the Omaha, Des Moines or Minneapolis/St. Paul.
However, PARKING was a nightmare due to simultaneous events there that Friday night (at HWF and the CC). Two topics that the mayor needs to (but won’t) address in his weekly press conferences: parking and the finance plan!
So….if our current arena for end stage concerts is 6400, and we can’t sellout for a C&W superstar, WHY the hell do we need a 12,000 seater? Mr Mayor- who you got that can fill those 12,000 seats? Or even come remotely close.
…if Mike wants to play those games, I am going to request an Events Center debate with him where he can call me a liar to my face.
The good mayor would never agree to such a debate. He would lose. He would be bringing a jackknife to a gunfight when considering the FACTS…not his own rumors. Only chance he’d have is stabbing you in the back at the pre-debate handshake.
Poly, that’s been my point the whole campaign. Our population has doubled in 20 years, and we still rarely jump above 5,000 or so for any concert. As for Sioux city, they really don’t get many shows. When I said that to Jamison on our show last month, his response was they got John mellencamp! Well, not only has he played here a few times, including when he was little Johnny cougar, his chart life ended around 1993.
l3wis, Could we buy you a plane ticket for the 9th so you can stay on the Mayor’s ass wherever he goes for this vacation?
The good mayor is going to Florida where he has tickets to the Tampa Bay/Houston NFL game. Says he might take on a major college game also. That, and some sand, beer, and sun. As soon as we get our 12,000 seater the good mayor will prolly stay in SF to go to similar sporting events like the SF/SC hockey rivalry where 2000 rabid fans will overflow the stands. He’ll get his beer anywhere where someone else is buying, and his sun and sand in his dreams.
Like I have said in the past, if this thing fails, heads will roll. It will be everyone’s fault but the mayor’s. Like I have said before, I dread failure because of this. His fucking tears will flood the streets so badly every single sewer will backup in the city. Talk about raw sewage flowing down our streets! Get out your pontoon boats.
If it fails, I predict a HD close-up of a tear slowly rolling down Angela Kennecke’s three-inch thick pancake makeup as she reads the results.
Congratulations to KSFY – first in HD, and first in BS: http://www.ksfy.com/story/15881606/second-informational-meeting-held-on-proposed-events-center.
Stalin and Lenin would be proud of the way MMM is using the local media to deliver his agenda. Tail wagging the dog!
Scumbag Steve……………
Do you really believe that the “DT folks” and the “NO vote” have been sitting idly by and doing nothing…..!!
Think again……………..
I believe that this has been very frustrating for BIN and the Mayor. They have not had any “opposition target” to focus on!
Reality check……We have all been quietly working behind the scenes for months to get the “facts” out to voters……….and I feel confident that this will be reflected in the final numbers on November 8th!!
But cr, you’re not a true group unless you have a facebook page! lol
What exactly have you been doing cr? Having coffee talk with the people who already think as you do? When there aint much commotion around the city about your efforts… I have a hard time believing your having muxch of an impact/
The opposition to this isnt nearly as storng or organized as the rec/drake votes… which is why I think it’ll pass pretty handily.
So I guess the people with the biggest Facebook group do win!
Did the rec/drake groups have a FB page??
If it were about FB,.. I’d pick this thing to fail. BIN has like 12 FB friends.
I co-chaired the Drake Springs petition drive….
We did the entire campaign with a little over 200 hundred dollars and NO computer…..
CR is right. In a down economy people get turned off by the big media campaign. I hope they keep sending out ‘Lifelight’ postcards of concerts that are vague and hard to understand. I hope they keep throwing loads of money at it. There is a lot of voters in the community who think the city is paying for these materials, they aren’t but who am I to correct people on that?
I got flier #2 in the mail today. The one with the alleged remarks people in the crowd would be saying. “I’m from out of town and paying $210 for dinner, $119 for a motel and $85 for gas.” I doubt people would be throwing money around like that to see some nitwit on stage dancing around like a mosquito.
That said, I would still go to Omaha for a break because I enjoy the old original family restaurants I like such as Bohemian Cafe, B & G’s, Etc. and I have friends down there.
The less government competes with local business the richer the local business choices would be.
Sorry, this may not make sense but I’m getting mad about all this crap. Someone took down “No” signs up the road here too.. Wonder who.
Bohemian Cafe . . . yummy. Nothing like a Bohemian Sidecar, liver soup and a kolache to get the evening started. ‘We accept Czechs not Checks!’
Like I said folks…. Im not basing this on computers or facebooks or much of anything more than the lack of commotion or niose that’s out there….word of mouth… in the media… whatever. The level of static around town against the rec/drake projects was louder than the support…this time the noise is def in the pros favor.
I was just kidding on the facebook thing, steve, but I don’t agree the “noise” is leaning towards favoring it. I guess it depends who you hang with.
I still think it will close.