On 4/30/05 5:27 PM, "Chris Johnson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Margaret Hastings wrote: >> This continued move to rely on the sports industry and sports moguls to >> provide economic vitality to the City of Mpls is a house of cards. >> >> And for Downtown Merchants and others to think they can revitalize DT Mpls by >> using such measures is not logical. >> >> DT Mpls has horrible and expensive parking. >> There is no decent mass transit to entice people who have cars, are in the >> suburbs or outlying areas of Mpls to come Downtown in the numbers they >> unrealistically want. > > That's a very good point. > > Not once have I heard someone say they don't patronize downtown because it > does not have the sports entertainment or any kind of entertainment that they > want. It's always been for one of three reasons, in order of most frequently > heard: (1) expensive parking, (2) traffic, and (3) crime. Question: Given all of the numerous entertainment options downtown, including sports, why would anyone ever say that they didn't patronize downtown because it didn't have the entertainment they wanted to see? Aside from maybe cow-tipping, what form of entertainment *isn't* downtown? A more useful type of question might be how many folks only go downtown to watch professional sports or see theater shows? I know plenty of folks who fit into those categories, which includes most of my friends who would go to Timberwolves games with me. I have to show them how to get around because they hardly ever went downtown before that. Now, I have no idea what the theater shows draw, but combined, the Twins, Timberwolves and Vikings draw over 3 million fans downtown to their games annually, despite the expensive parking, traffic and crime. Take the Twins and the Timberwolves out of downtown and I have pretty much no reason ever to go downtown again, other than once a month or so to continue patronizing the barber I've been going to for almost 20 years. Most other folks who are Twins and/or Timberwolves fans don't even have that. Another question: If relying on the sports industry is a "house of cards" then why was it a top priority of the Downtown Council, a group of business leaders, to keep the Twins in downtown Minneapolis? Are you ballpark opponents suggesting that you know more about what draws customers than these folks who actually run successful businesses downtown? Mark Snyder Windom Park REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
