Editorial: Fort Worth arena is needed, plan deserves support
This editorial struck me as more of a paid political advertisement than an editorial.
I suppose a Chamber of Commerce boosting type article is what one should expect from an entity which bills itself as a town's business press.
Unlike this week's Fort Worth Weekly article about the Fort Worth Multipurpose Arena the Fort Worth Business Press asks no questions about this questionable arena plan. Such as questions about how traffic is going to be handled in this already congested zone.
Three paragraphs from the FW Business Press editorial, with the first paragraph containing an embarrassing Betsy Price quote------
“There are no other cities that could pull this off,” Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price told the Business Press during a meeting with the newspaper’s editorial board. Bass also participated in the meeting and said the private portion of the arena’s cost would come from “a limited number of foundations, organizations and individuals that have been focused on this arena project for two decades.”
Price’s comment was appropriate and telling, for few if any cities can boast the cooperative spirit and sense of common purpose that has consistently brought the public and private sectors together to advance Fort Worth’s prosperity and growth.
Even in its heyday hosting rock concerts and sporting events the convention center arena was a pale harbinger of the Will Rogers venue that is now on the drawing boards and, if the voters see fit, on the threshold of realization. For starters, the convention center arena had a maximum seating capacity of 11,200; depending on the event, the proposed arena will seat as many as 14,000 – a number that will place the facility in the forefront of regional venues able to attract a variety of concerts and other events that in recent years have rarely found their way to Fort Worth.
"Few other cities could pull this off" according to Mayor Price. Uh, did not Dallas pull off building the American Airlines Arena where the Mavericks play basketball? Did not Arlington pull off building the Dallas Cowboys Stadium where the Cowboys play football?
This new arena will bring events to Fort Worth which currently pass Fort Worth by for bigger arenas, because this new arena can sell as many as 14,000 tickets, a whopping 2,800 more tickets than the existing Fort Worth Convention Center Arena?
Really? Those 2,800 more tickets are a tipping point which will cause One Direction or Beyonce to choose to sing in Fort Worth rather than Dallas or Arlington?
Few, if any cities can boast the cooperative spirit and sense of common purpose that has consistently brought the public and private sectors together to advance Fort Worth's prosperity and growth?
Consistently brought the public and private sectors together? Examples please. Advancing Fort Worth's prosperity and growth? More examples please.
Are we referring to something like the Cabela's hornswoggle which had Fort Worth granting a sporting goods store all sorts of concession because the city fell for the Cabela's con job that convinced those getting conned that this sporting goods store would be the #1 Tourist Attraction in Texas. It soon was not even the only Cabela's in Texas, and now it is not even the only Cabela's in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.
Have any of those responsible for falling for the Cabela's con fessed up? Including the Fort Worth Star-Telegram?
Cooperative spirit and common purpose between the public and private sectors? I truly am drawing a blank trying to think of an example. The Trinity River Vision Boondoggle? That slow motion underfunded project with no construction timeline?
The cooperative spirit and common purpose that brought fixing the Heritage Park eyesore on the north end of Fort Worth's downtown, across the street from the Tarrant County Courthouse?
Nope.
Nothing has been done to fix the Heritage Park mess for years now.
You want to talk about something legit about which Fort Worth can boast? Well, few if any major American cities can boast of having a rundown eyesore like Heritage Park at such a prominent location in their downtown.
Ed Bass claims private entities have been focused on this arena project for two decades?
After two decades they came up with a small arena that at its max holds only 14,000 tickets buyers? Costing almost a half billion bucks?
And the public is asked to vote yes or no on three propositions relating to user fees, such as yes or no on a $1 or $2 fee to use a livestock stall.
As for the public participation in this election farce, in this week's Fort Worth Weekly we learned that even if the public votes no on the three propositions the arena project will still go ahead. Meaning, the Fort Worth Multipurpose Arena Election is not an election where the public votes whether nor not to build this arena.
You know, it just occurred to me that that goofy Betsy Price quote quoted above actually is likely true, "There are no other cities that could pull this off".......
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