^ He gets so worked up about this stuff that I'm starting to think Goldie is literally the actual Goldeyes mascot
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bdog
I wonder if the view of this deal, and the general attitude toward the ball park, would be different if say Chipman, or some other figure, owned the team and was asking for the break. Again, regardless of what you think of Katz personally, he took a huge risk on downtown over 20 years ago when no one else was willing to (a 12 million dollar risk, I might add). The ball park is the reason 1000s of people come downtown for 60 nights a year, and is one of the great summer family activities.
And let's not get carried away here. Prime spot for redevelopment? The site of the ballpark is literally surrounded by surface parking lots. Let's wait until a few of those reach their supposed higher and best use before we start promoting the re-use of this community gem. Kind of reminds me of the Skinner's debate: Take a risk and support the downtown for decades, only to get kicked out the second things turn around and something cooler comes up!
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I think that the Katz factor is hard to ignore when you're dealing with the Goldeyes. At one point he had a bit of a Midas touch with things, but after his mayoralty I think public regard for Katz has dropped somewhat, to put it mildly. I'm sure there's less inclination at City Hall to bend over backwards for him and his business. But that said, I don't think anyone is cheerleading for the Goldeyes' demise, just that there should be a fair deal in place. The current lease arrangement of $1 a year plus you keep all the parking revenue from city-owned surface lots seems unduly generous.
As for the site itself, you'll note in my earlier post I wasn't saying the City should start pursuing redevelopment of the ballpark site right away. It's still only 20 years old and probably has at least that many years left. I was getting at the idea that the site is pretty marketable and at the current rate of development, in 20 years time it will probably be one of the few somewhat large parcels of land left along that stretch of riverfront. Given the prime location near The Forks, Portage and Main and Waterfront Drive, I could see it being in pretty strong demand for either residential development, commercial development (offices, etc.), or even some kind of cultural or entertainment facility... someone mentioned a new Jets arena down the road, that is not outside the realm of possibility.