Downtown Stadium Thoughts

[sharkmansix]

Downtown Fort Wayne is not scary or frightening or threatning.

I'm not saying you're free to be an idiot but it's far from dangerous.

Just give a nod to the guy with the boombox and you're in the clear.

[WBOB]

Just give a nod to the guy with the boombox and you're in the clear.

funny, but, that actually works...

downtown at night isn't scary,... it's more
like lonely,... after awhile you'll start
talking to an occasional tumbleweed.

[The_Dude]

Unless you're on the Landing, it's dead.

ADD. MORE. BARS. AND. MORE. NIGHTLIFE. ATTRACTIONS.

1 + 1 = 2

[DropListBass]

I agree that it does sound a bit backward at first thought. Although the research has been done. Most of the time statistics will hold true. So..I say right on and lets have faith that our downtown will get the jumpstart that other cities have gotten. We will know if it is working when residential developments start to pop up, if they do. I mean living downtown right now is no more expensive than most other areas of town..we want people to want to live there. Plus ...that will help my house value considering I live near lakeside park....and am a 3 min drive to the downtown area. I say lets give it a shot.

[Jambrea]

I guess I would like to see what good the coliseum expansion really did before building another stadium. Does anyone know where you could find those static’s. I really don't see how building another stadium will help.

[Thakid2u]

I think the casino idea would be the best direction to go. They were talking about using the old Omni Source land for parking and building a boat on the river. Im not a big gambler, but the trips to Michigan City are great. If done right, a casino will bring.....Hotels, which lead to bars, other forms of entertainment and the most important thing....REVENUE. The worst thing they said about the casino was, they thought that crime would rise around here. WTF. I disagree with that.

As for the stadium, my feelings are the same as many on here. WHY, What's the point? We dont use the one we have to full demand. The only way a new stadium would work is if it was built for a NFL team to play. Which would never happen. The NFL votes on where teams are put. Seeing how we aren't big enough to do that, there is no way.

Then there is the whole mess with them wanting to tear Wizards Stadium (is that the real name) down. Hell why not keep it and play maybe the State High School Champ. games there, or the little league tourn. Let the little kids feel important by playing on a real field. Maybe a few concerts every once in awile. While Buffet wouldnt be able to fit in there, many smaller acts could do it. To me the coliseum is a joke. Actually the whole Fort Wayne sports thing is a joke. They are thinking on a small level. They need to step it up and go to the next level. If not, well we will be stuck right where we are.

How about putting something like Verizon Wireless Center down towards the south? Build something like that and think of all the bigger bands that would come.

Ok, enough from me....

[Jambrea]

I think you have some sound ideas.

[Garr]

Although the research has been done. Most of the time statistics will hold true.

Do you have this somewhere for the rest of us to look at? I haven't seen any of the research or stats, and I'd like to see what you've read to support this opinion.

We will know if it is working when residential developments start to pop up, if they do. I mean living downtown right now is no more expensive than most other areas of town..we want people to want to live there. Plus ...that will help my house value considering I live near lakeside park....and am a 3 min drive to the downtown area. I say lets give it a shot.

I'm all for property values going up in our neighborhood, but what kind of development will you find downtown? There's no more room there. I mean, they could build more high-rise apartments, maybe.

The residential development that I see in this town is all northeast and west of Fort Wayne, and I'm guessing that all of the shopping malls and housing developents going up in those areas is due to some other economic factor, not downtown. The midwest is primarily run by manufacturing and agricultre, and then all of the service businesses that spring up to support the people in those jobs.

If there is strong evidence that supports this, I guess I am in favor of it, but I'd like to see non-biased pitches for both sides and make an opinion based on that.

[DropListBass]

Garr I honestly dont know what day it was but it was in the evening paper. They have paid a research companies to look at other cities of similar size...with similar downtown stadiums. Then they analized the economic growth. In every situatuion the downtown area grew vastly.

As far as developments I am refering to the many areas of buildings that could be turned into condos or the small time buisnesses that could be bought and turned it resedential buildings. There are also some run down areas that could be bought out and turned into nice appartmens. There is plenty of room to grow upwards. If this downtown ever gets the revitalization that they want....anyones home/condo in the downtown area will skyrocket in property value, just as anyone who lives in an already established area near downtown. My fingers are crossed.

[Garr]

Look at the Library. Look at the Grand Wayne Center.

There is development to get people downtown taking place.

I'll have to check on that article. I think Emma Downs might be able to direct me to it. . .or someone else can. It would be interesting to see if there is residential growth downtown. I think Fort Wayne is stuck on developing out for the moment, but maybe all of these changes downtown will switch that focus.

Regardless of those things, I still don't see a stadium as being the right thing for this town, but who knows. I know I won't go to it, but I don't get into that kind of thing.

[DropListBass]

Right now there is little or no resedential growth downtown. If there is ever resedential growth downtown then we will know we are on the right track. I wont go to the stadium either but it will increase the amount of people going downtown and walking around..especially after 5P.M. How many people go home right after a baseball game? Most people go to a resturant or a bar....so when 4000 people get out of a baseball game and there is a bar or resturant within walking distance...where do you think they will go? So if this is the case then there will be more life downtown...which will make people want to be near it. Now comes the resedential growth...

[bassjones]

That's the hope anyway. I'm still not sure about a baseball stadium. If the Wizards were a Cubs, White Sox, even Tigers affiliate, they might draw better, but it's tough to get people out when these guys are future Padres (or is it Twins?), if they get to the bigs.

[Al Quandt]

Here is one article i found on the topic.

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentin ... 164010.htm


my biggest anger with the project is what they need to tear down to accomplish it. Belmont ???? The Palace Rest.?????? Then no parking?

[QWETTY]

How about an indoor sports facility

ok..e its official, FWM.com has could possibly solve all the problems in the world. ppl having been saying that forever on this site.

[Jambrea]

Here is a point in the article that I am in full agreement with.

But we’ve heard many ideas for big projects downtown that might act as a tipping point. What about a water park? What about a resort hotel that incorporated a water park – an attraction that might draw visitors from a wider area than a minor-league baseball game? How about an aquarium? How about a Circle Centre Mall on a Fort Wayne scale? How about an indoor sports facility – think of the success of the Spiece Fieldhouse on the north side of town – that could be used for amateur sports events year around? Or perhaps a series of smaller residential developments given healthy financial incentives by the city?

I found this to be interesting:

The report of the BaseballPLUS committee doesn’t comb the nation for an array of ideas for downtown projects that have worked; it examines one and only one idea: a downtown stadium. Perhaps that would nudge downtown toward a tipping point, but taxpayers ought to demand a thorough search for new ideas first. Then a panel that isn’t so entirely enchanted with baseball ought to weigh the costs and prospective advantages of many ideas.