So, Mike, you are losing some sleep over the Events Center debate?
“As painful and as trying as this process is, and yes I’m losing some sleep over it, in the end it’s all going to be worth it. This city will be able to celebrate, and this state will be able to enjoy the good things Sioux falls has been able to accomplish,” Huether said.
Did you lose any sleep while you were making millions from taking advantage of the financially ignorant?
Ironically this could all be over and done with if you would just put it on the ballot already. I hear a ton of debate and discussion, but not once have a heard when it is going to be on the ballot and the language of that ballot.
I think you are enjoying all this fuss.
THE RUMOR MILL
A little birdy told me yesterday that Mayor Huether isn’t a fan of Meghan Luther, the city politics reporter from the Argus Endorser. I guess he didn’t take to kindly to her recent ‘Build it Downtown’ article. Is our mayor trying to manipulate the media by being a bully? Not sure. More to come on this topic.
I am not a big fan of the downtown location primarily because the traffic jams that will occur. Downtown is NOT SET up for a large amount of traffic. The Arena will become a cluster f*ck if there are any other events being held (which there will be). Why not consider building it by Benson and I29? Lots of land (not sure who owns it though) and easy on/off ability to move the traffic. Just a thought…and maybe that has already been bounced around. I just don’t believe we truly NEED an Events Center…there are many MORE important things to attend to, like how many children in the Sioux Falls area are going hungry, how many “weekend back packs” are needed, since children’s basic needs are not being met..imagine their ability to even concentrate on learning anything…there isn’t….when their stomachs are growling. Okay..this is more than 2cents worth…
Meghan Luther is a good journalist. When it comes to city topics, she tends to report truth that other media shys away from. She should be careful or she’ll get citations and discover due process is not available from city hall.
I agree. We don’t need it. But if the voters do approve it, it needs to be DT.
As a leading non-profit director in SF said to me the other day, “I think we need to just put a new coat of paint on the Arena.” I couldn’t agree more.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=107dADrIVBk&feature=related
Like you brought up, when almost 50% of our kids are getting free or reduced lunches in our schools one has to question the ‘NEED’ for an entertainment facility.
A new EC will mean 600 construction jobs for the better part of 18 months. If you do it right and build it downtown, many of those jobs will keep on going after the facility is built.
Economic development means making the pie bigger for everyone, not just the wealthy. If we do this at all the only proper way is to maximize economic development.
As for Huether v. Luther/AL, Even though he’s the #2 elected Democrat in this State, HisMan is just exporing his inner Janklowvian and Nixonian tendencies. It’s probably just a phase.
Sy, I don’t think the lack of temp job creation is at issue, it is that once built the majority of positions will be part time and at a low wage, a rather frequent issue for around here. Sioux Falls is usually pretty good for temporary/seasonal work, what we need is decent paying (30K a year +) jobs and decent housing affordable at wages similar to that. A large portion of children on some form of govt assistance would indicate we should not be spending money on an events center.
You don’t build a $100 million facility with a bunch of temps.
No kidding, what I mean is that the job would be temporary work. The concrete guys would not still be there after the job is done. Stop being facetious.
We do not need it.
Don’t build it.
use the money other things like fixing roads, updating sewer lines.
This will be built by a general contractor who lowballs everyone else with shoddy materials and workmanship. Likely out of staters.
You don’t build a $150 million facility with a bunch of temps.
I corrected it for ya Sy.
A little birdy told me yesterday that Mayor Huether isn’t a fan of Meghan Luther
And a little birdy told me the Jeff Schersclicter land offer is off the table. The same little birdy told me the DT “Events” Center could well be on the Sioux Steel land. How much will that cost? Or even Jeff’s land now that he’s taken his ONCE generous offer off the table?
Jim:
“The concrete guys would not still be there after the job is done. ”
Unless there’s another job or two going on behind it in the same area, then at least there’s a shot of them getting more work.
Poly43:
Jeff’s land will be on the table until the EC location debate over. Sioux Steel and a few other sites MIGHT be on the table, but not until those property owners are approached and show some level of interest.
Does it bother any of you how the Mayor has “led” on this project? He first didn’t want to give any details, then was forced to give some (not all). He’s talking about how great a supporter of downtown he is and in the next breath trashing the Area and it’s supporters. He’s alienating the Council. He’s now attacking the media and at least one reporter. He says downtown business owners are liars. He’s said the first thing he started working on was getting the tracks out, yet strangely he hasn’t picked up the phone to get any assistance from Thune or his office, who helped secure the funds.
Like I said, this guy is Nixonian and getting worse every day.
Jeff’s land will be on the table until the EC location debate over.
For the same price he guaranteed last year?
Like I said, this guy is Nixonian and getting worse every day.
Not any more than your new Democratic political advisor buddy Hildebrand.
Sy your sidestepping the issue. Other than a minimal staff doing day to day maintenance, all employees will be temporary after it is built. The wages for the event workers will be garbage and the tradesmen will most likely be out of work again once the job is over. Never mind that it would only employ a small number of people and contribute little in the long run to the workforce in any meaningful way.
Huetther’s whining interview on KELO last night was embarrassing. The issue was the makeup of the EC team, and of course he’s angry that anybody would even think of criticizing it.
Daizi – Interstate Highways are NOT designed to handle hign volumns of traffic. They are designed to handle low volumes at HIGH SPEED. Put too many vehicle on them all at once and they plug up like a clogged drain on a bathroom sink.
The DT grid system, on the other hand, IS designed SPECIFICALLY to handle high volumes of traffic.
Poly:
A. Not my place to call, but I’d guess it would be. the Do you think the City could score the same deal for the Stockyards if they wanted to buy that site?
B. Hilde isn’t an elected official, he’s a campaign strategist. He sat this last round out and had some spare time. Doesn’t mean he isn’t 100% correct about how this process has gone that he’s (and a bunch of other folk) been repeatedly told to trust.
and Jim, there’s been several hundred million $$ in proposed development in downtown, most of which isn’t even under way yet. Add in the employees & managers of all the businesses that come in behind one and there’s where the seperation between the two sites will be. This isn’t a concept I made up, it’s happened in numerous other places both near and far.
The basic point that BID is arguing is if we spend this money, maximize the potential return. If that’s a “Special Interest” or whatever other label you want to stick on it than I say you got a screw loose.
One other “crazy” concept, you can take a building that normally sits empty and design part of the facade to blend into the existing neighborhood street level that could be sold or leased to offset the day to day costs. Yes, it would add initial expense, but it would make the place pay for itself many times faster.
Kinda like L3wis’ Uptown design concept, you put a block or two in that looks like that. But it wouldn’t work at the Arena, there you get a skywalk instead.
Something that reminds me of what Sy said was blending the building into architectural styles of that area. One place that is like that is Downtown Indianapolis. I think it is called Circle Center (it’s really neat). They re-did as far as I know the inside of a bunch of old historic multi-level buildings and turned the inside into a Modern Shopping Mall. It’s so cool to go to Downtown Indy and see it.
Look it up. It’s called “Circle Centre”
They did that in Sioux City also in an old packing plant, it was creepy as Hell and closed down. I ate at a Mexican cafe when I visited, and there was still rusty meat hooks hanging from the ceiling.
That’s probably not the best comparison to City Centre.
almost 50% of our kids are getting free or reduced lunches in our schools one has to question the ‘NEED’ for an entertainment facility.
It’s not just the kids that are feelin’ hunger pains. Sy has suggested I take my retired butt and join the hubris bandwagon part time. Couldn’t do that even if I wanted….which I WOULD NOT. I spend about 20 hours a week with senior citizens. Nearly all on fixed, inflation riddled incomes. It is heart wrenching to see and hear what they endure on a daily basis. Some are D’s and some are R’s. But on one agenda they are ONE. And we all know what that is. They WILL be there at the polls when this issue finally comes to a head. Count on it.
Oh….and that VAST majority of SF residents that want this blackhole located DT? You know the 15% of 57% of 400 people stupid enough to respond to a telephone push poll? Will they be at the polls that day, or will they be celebrating another imaginary victory at Stogeez like they did with the rec center?
This isn’t a concept I made up, it’s happened in numerous other places both near and far.
You mean like Grand Forks?
http://sayanythingblog.com/entry/early_alerus_supporter_says_its_no_problem_that_they_lose_money/
http://sayanythingblog.com/entry/the-alerus-is-going-to-cut-their-losses-by-holding-more-money-losing-concerts/
http://sayanythingblog.com/entry/alerus_commission_plans_on_losing_more_money/
l3wis. That image you have of the Arena site? Where’d it come from? Don’t think I’ve seen this one before.
That is the image KELO always uses, I think it is from Mike’s PP presentation.
More like Grand Rapids, Omaha, Sioux City, Evansville, Lousville, Wichita, Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, La Crosse, Minneapolis, Denver, Edmonton,…etc. etc.
More like Grand Rapids, Omaha, Sioux City, Evansville, Lousville, Wichita, Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, La Crosse, Minneapolis, Denver, Edmonton,…etc. etc.
ALL these cities have a much broader population base to draw from within a 100 mile radius. How bout Cedar Rapids ? A f@#$%ng horror story. A city decimatd by the 2008 500 year flood. The city “voted” in a 1% sales tax increase for rehabilitation of flood damaged housing. Great idea til the mayor of that fine city got involved. What are the Cedar Rapids DT’ers planning on doing with flood “RELIEF” money? Building a 67 million dollar convention center Taj Mahal. The gall of these DT’ers is unfuckinbelievable.
Read the story, and especially the comments here.
http://thegazette.com/2010/11/08/new-c-r-convention-complex-to-bring-37500-more-visitors/
Researching this DT push nationwide for “REVITALIZATION” by building “Event” Centers is sickening. If every cowtown, or in our case, credit card town, builds one of these “Event” Centers, it will be completely diluted. Prolly already is. Sorry SF. Day late and a dollar short again. Oh well, we still got T Denny and his fee harvesting money. Thank You Bill Janklow.
Another thing all those cities have in common is they also aren’t growing as fast nor have as dynamic an economy (for the most part) as ours.
The nearest and most relevant examples are facilities that are paid off, and partly thanks to us not acting. Sure, they got help from the State or the U, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t find another way to bust the nut.
To me, the location is the make or break. We go at the Arena and I think Poly’s prediction of failure and voter backlash will be possible. Downtown, at least there’s a shot at it becoming a better draw than Fargo and Sioux City.
I could not help but notice how shaken Huether seemed
during Hildebrand’s comments before the city council.
Either they are both really good actors, or their disagreements about the placement of the new events
center are genuine (?)
Oh, I think they are pretty livid with each other.
l3wis: They did that in Sioux City also in an old packing plant, it was creepy as Hell and closed down.
Riding the elevator in that place was somewhat questionable, but the Dowry (costumer rental place that did 95% of their business for Halloween) fit in perfectly.
There was also a bowling alley there that would shut off all the normal lights and flip on blacklights and neon – but that was probably to hide the fact that the alleys were all uneven and it looked like the perfect place to film Hostel 3.
I ate at the Mexican resturaunt a couple of times… it was average. I liked the old atmosphere of the building though… even if I wondered if the building would come crashing down at any moment.
All of that said – I’m still wondering how many events have been held at the Arena in the past five years that actually sold out. Building a new 15,000 seat EC reminds me of a family building a new McMansion even though they have 3 extra bedrooms and an unfinished basement they have never set foot in.
I’m more of a “needs” type of guy instead of a “wants”. When it comes to tax dollars our priorities are so out of whack it isn’t even funny.