The article headline instantly struck me as patented Star-Telegram style puffery.
New "one-of-a-kind" venue?
I know this arena is new, and that it is a venue. But one-of-a-kind? That seems unlikely.
Reading the article I expected to be seeing multiple instances of propaganda puffery.
And I did.
However, perusing the "Dickies Arena, Fort Worth's new one-of-a-kind venue, is for more than just rodeo" article and reading the parts of the article which were actual factual descriptions of this new Fort Worth building, and looking at the gallery of photos, I can see this is a cool new addition to Fort Worth. An edifice any town anywhere would be proud of to have in their town.
But, having said this, let's take a look at the ridiculous propaganda puffery in this latest Star-Telegram Chamber of Commerce style production.
First paragraph...
Fort Worth likely hasn’t seen anything like Dickies Arena in a generation.
Well, now that assertion certainly can not be argued with. Nothing much has been built in Fort Worth of the large public facility sort or downtown skyscraper sort, since I first laid eyes on Fort Worth about two decades ago. One must point out the Modern Art Museum, added to Fort Worth this century, near Dickies, is impressive, and was added to Fort Worth in a generation.
Also impressive is the fact that the Dickies Arena was built in what for Fort Worth was a short construction timeline. I mean, it seems like only four or five years ago voters approved of this project by approving three silly ballot measures. One to charge a livestock stall fee, one to charge a parking fee, one to charge an admission ticket fee. I may not be remembering totally accurately the three ballot measures, but I can accurately say I had never ever witnessed such a bizarre ballot measure used to approve a public works project.
It is sort of ironic that Dickies Arena was built to completion in the years since America's Dumbest Boondoggle, also known as the Trinity River Central City Uptown Panther Island District Vision began trying to build three simple little bridges over dry land, starting with a TNT exploding celebration way back in 2014.
I suspect the project engineer who oversaw the construction of Dickies was an actual qualified professional sort, and not the inept son of a local congress person.
And then the next paragraph...
Sure, Fort Worth has seen its share of visionary endeavors. AllianceTexas is an economic driver. TEXRail connects downtown to DFW Airport. We’re promised continued growth in Near Southside and one day maybe along the river’s Panther Island.
Visionary endeavors? And these are the examples? Nothing more needs to be said.
And then there is this rather elevated claim...
“I think, you know, the level of finish that you have in this building is second to no other in the United States,” said Dickies Arena General Manager Matt Homan.
Okay, the General Manager of this building project has reason to be proud of the accomplishment. But, second to no other in the United States?
And then these two paragraphs featuring Fort Worth's mayor...
Dickies Arena would not have been possible with out the generosity of Fort Worth’s philanthropic community, said Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price.
“There’s not a lot of cities that can say they have a nearly $600 million venue that’s mostly funded by private donors,” she said. “People who don’t want to go to Dallas can come to Fort Worth and feel right at home.”
Uh, Fort Worth has a population over 800,000. Dear Betsy, most American towns of this size can finance a relatively small project like this arena without relying on charity from their town's more wealthy citizens. Having to do so is nothing to be bragging about.
And then we have an embarrassing quote from a local Fort Worth architect...
“I think it’s a really great mix of old and new,” Roberts said. “Our Cultural District is the best in the country. We’ve been very fortunate to have these world-renowned architects add to our city.”
How many big cities in America have an area of their town which they designate as being their Cultural District, one can not help but wonder? Is Culture allowed in other parts of Fort Worth? Or is Culture restricted to being allowed only in the Cultural District?
The following is an amusing paragraph with its comparison of a sign to a pickup truck...
If you can’t see the action on the floor, there’s a 25-by-38-foot rounded video board hanging from the dome. It’s the second largest of its kind in the country (behind the one in Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena) and weighs 12 times as much as a Chevrolet Silverado.
Oh my, a curved video board second biggest in America. And weighing 12 times more than a Chevy Silverado. Is that the small version of that pickup, such as the one I drive? Or one of the big versions?
Then there is a series of paragraphs touting what a great music venue Dickies Arena will be, unlike anything else available in the DFW market, including this doozy...
Fort Worth has historically been a music town. Elvis Presely played in Cowtown Coliseum early in his career and Willy Nelson cut his teeth in honkytonks along Jacksboro Highway, she said.
Oh yes, Fort Worth has historically been a music town. I bet you reading this in locations in modern America were totally aware of this. Oh my, Elvis (Star-Telegram editors, Presley is the correct spelling of the Elvis last name, historically speaking) sang in the Stockyard's Coliseum way back over a half century ago, in the 1950s, followed by Willie singing in Jacksboro honkytonks. That is quite a music history.
Okay, that is enough of this. Read the entire "Dickies Arena, Fort Worth's new one-of-a-kind venue, is for more than just rodeo" article to find other gems of propaganda nonsense, such at the final sentence in the article...
“This is really giving Fort Worth a much higher profile.”...
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