Huntsville updates

[OCA REP]

Originally Posted by Huntsvillenative

I talked to a guy downtown tonight that says he's spoken with members of the council and says we're looking at building a state-of-the-art Aquarium to rival the one in Chattanooga...

~yawn~ ... and I am not knocking Huntsville when I express that sentiment. I had the exact same response when Montgomery jumped on the let's "build an aquarium" bandwagon. The largest one in the world is VERY close to both of our cities and the one in Chatanooga is in your own backyard.

Originally Posted by Huntsvillenative

He also said he doubts there will be a new baseball stadium in downtown but expects a new one somewhere...

This seems shortsighted. One of the best things that occurred here in Montgomery was the construction of Riverwalk Stadium in our downtown. A new baseball park could be a huge catalyst to get people back into the core of your downtown!

Originally Posted by Huntsvillenative

a possibility that the Stars may move up to Triple A and a name change could be coming

This would surpise a LOT of people! I guess it is a possibility, but generally AAA teams are located in larger markets. Plus, if attendance for the Stars has been as bad as some have reported, it does not look like a move to to AAA is warranted. However, maybe there is a AAA team that is looking to re-locate. $$$ and a state-of-the-art ballpark can be good incentives!

[HSVTiger]

I would hope that Huntsville would do something besides an aquarium. That would be like Chattanooga building a Space Museum. I think this is a joke at your expense. Huntsville will create it's downtown to it's strengths.
Examples, The Medical District, plenty of opportunity at the Councill Court site
Light rail, this could link downtown with Research Park and the airport.
Downtown Research Park..this would create more jobs, retail, and housing.
Affordable downtown housing,,you have to have this for retail/
Sci Quest could be part of the Research Park.
Baseball Stadium..only if private investment foots the bill.
Constellation...this will be a big deal when it takes off.
VBC expansion/renovation big help..another hotel should be pursued.
Office tower at the Holiday Inn site
Federal Courthouse on the old Mental Health site..this totally up to the Federal government but Huntsville is on the list.
Pinhook Creek riverwalk, still being talked about and planned just do it already!
Fountains /sculptures, Arts District this could include Five Points, the feeling
is already apparent in this area.
Meridian Street corridor, develop condos/ retail north to Oakwood, a trolly route would run along this route when developed.
Downtown grocery store..Constellation may have this.
Continue with the plan to bridge over Church Street at Big Spring like Monroe Street is.
Extend greenway/Big Spring to Medical District/Councill Court and north to depot. This is in the planning stages.
Downtown state of the art Planetarium.. part of Sci Quest/Downtown Research Park and plays to Huntsville's heritage.
This is just a start, the problem is doing it, it has to start to create momentum.

[Rush]

We do apologize for the ridiculous amount of time it took us to open Rush. Opening a business such as ours is a process with a lot of hoops. We still have a number of items that we are in the process of completing. The upstairs, Mickey's Upstairs, will be opening in approximately 3 weeks. At that time we will have our grand opening. Our capacity numbers will more than double at that time and we plan on launching a marketing campaign to help spread the word. However, at this time we are open WED-SAT. Doc will host Karaoke on Wed and Thur and Don-E is our resident DJ on Fri and Sat. Don-E does a great job of playing to the crowd in the building and breaking records that people may have never heard. His main focus is electro, house, breaks with some old school, hip hop and sick mash ups. Are definite focus is the people of the area that are sick of the run of the mill nightclubs that Huntsville has had in the past. Once we cranked up, fully opened, we are going to turn loose a new experience for all of our patrons. Mickey's Upstairs will feature great party bands and DJs playing 70s, 80s, and 90s. It is a great venue and we are extremely excited about finally getting close to our vision. What took so long was the upgrades the city required us to do to the building, which are all understandable and almost complete. Anyhow, sorry to ramble. Please spread the word and come give us a try. These next couple of weeks are basically soft opening warm ups and while we try to get the buzz circulating. Any support is greatly appreciated.

[TimCity2000]

i agree with OCA REP... an aquarium is just not very creative, and two of the best are within hours of huntsville.

i'd love to see a stadium downtown with nightlife/restaurants/shopping around it.

[Huntsvillenative]

The Aquarium is not far fetched idea and is said to be one of the top priorities of the new mayor and council. Just because Chattanooga has one and ATL has one does not mean that Alabama should not have a state aquarium. California has multiple aquariums and it's the worst state financially in America. A new world class aquarium to represent the entire state would be closer for people in AL, MS, West TN, MO, LA, and AR residents to travel to Huntsville and have shopping attractions like Bridge Stree and Constellation nearby or close than to travel to a much larger and crowded hard to get around city like Atlanta. I would like to see us build one that is bigger and features more to do than the one in Chattanooga. Maybe have an indoor garden attraction included with man made waterfalls, fountains, and dolphins. Make it bigger than the TN Aquarium but half the size of the GA Aquarium. This would boost our tourism to a new level and would put a lot of money in the community for other major investment projects that aren't there now and expand our market.

For the record, Huntsville is already one of the fastest growing cities in all of America!

As for Sci-Quest, it's most likely going to be relocated to downtown next to or near Early Works Museum. This is probably the new science museum. Most likely location would be the Regions bank which would be razed to make way for it.

Don't be surprised if tax dollars aren't used on some of these planned projects. Especially on a world class aquarium that would be a profit making investment for the city and state.

[Huntsville_secede]

Ok so this so called Dave and Buster's type place um they forgot to actually put some games in there. I was very disappointing its nothing like Dave and Buster's. It's basically an upscale bowling alley with a restaurant kinda like Tin Pin Alley by Dolce group that they were originally planning on building. We still need a real Dave and Buster's type place.

[HSVTiger]

CNN Money magazine has selected Madison as one of the top 100 best places to live in 2009. The Huntsville suburb comes in at No. 49 as the highest ranked Alabama city on the list, which was released earlier today.

Three other Alabama cities were named in the top 100: Calera came in at No. 83, Alabaster at No. 85 and Helena at No. 90.

[jmanhsv]

Originally Posted by Huntsvillenative

The Aquarium is not far fetched idea and is said to be one of the top priorities of the new mayor and council. Just because Chattanooga has one and ATL has one does not mean that Alabama should not have a state aquarium. California has multiple aquariums and it's the worst state financially in America. A new world class aquarium to represent the entire state would be closer for people in AL, MS, West TN, MO, LA, and AR residents to travel to Huntsville and have shopping attractions like Bridge Stree and Constellation nearby or close than to travel to a much larger and crowded hard to get around city like Atlanta. I would like to see us build one that is bigger and features more to do than the one in Chattanooga. Maybe have an indoor garden attraction included with man made waterfalls, fountains, and dolphins. Make it bigger than the TN Aquarium but half the size of the GA Aquarium. This would boost our tourism to a new level and would put a lot of money in the community for other major investment projects that aren't there now and expand our market.

An aquarium? Huntsville shouldn't waste its time and money trying to become a tourist town. It's not one, and it never will be. Some might argue that Chattanooga wasn't a tourist town 20 years ago, before the aquarium. But they have the advantage of 2 interstates filled with vacationers from the north headed to Florida. Being mostly off the Interstate system, Huntsville doesn't have that kind of thru traffic. Also, aquariums work better in cities near a significant body of water-- lake, bay, river, etc-- with a variety of aquatic species. Huntsville has neither... technically, we're on the Tennessee River, but Chatty's already got that one covered.

Huntsville can't attract tourists, but it can attract residents. Let's capitalize on that. If Huntsville wants to spend money on attractions, build ones that will be appealing to residents and would enhance the quality of life here. I would go to an aquarium once, maybe twice, and then never go again because it's the same old stuff. However, a downtown ballpark or an entertainment district would bring me back again and again. Any of the ideas Tiger listed earlier would much better than an aquarium for the city in the long-term.

[SpawnOfVulcan]

As for the Stars going to AAA, it's entirely possible. I mean, if Jackson, TN can have a AA team, Huntsville could have a AAA team. That being said, the Barons would likely be the one to jump to AAA if any team in Alabama did.

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by jmanhsv

An aquarium? Huntsville shouldn't waste its time and money trying to become a tourist town. It's not one, and it never will be. Some might argue that Chattanooga wasn't a tourist town 20 years ago, before the aquarium. But they have the advantage of 2 interstates filled with vacationers from the north headed to Florida. Being mostly off the Interstate system, Huntsville doesn't have that kind of thru traffic. Also, aquariums work better in cities near a significant body of water-- lake, bay, river, etc-- with a variety of aquatic species. Huntsville has neither... technically, we're on the Tennessee River, but Chatty's already got that one covered.

Huntsville can't attract tourists, but it can attract residents. Let's capitalize on that. If Huntsville wants to spend money on attractions, build ones that will be appealing to residents and would enhance the quality of life here. I would go to an aquarium once, maybe twice, and then never go again because it's the same old stuff. However, a downtown ballpark or an entertainment district would bring me back again and again. Any of the ideas Tiger listed earlier would much better than an aquarium for the city in the long-term.

Well one of the largest tourist attractions in Alabama every year is the Space Center and HSV/Madison County. People who don't live here view us in a different light.
The top five counties with the largest travel-related expenditures are: Baldwin County with almost $2.3 billion in travel-related spending, Jefferson County was second with more than $1.5 billion, Madison County was third at $991 million, Mobile County ranked fourth with more than $944 million and Montgomery County was fifth with nearly $558 million.
Source Governors press release April 17, 2009

[HSV79]

Call me crazy but I'd like to see a large indoor waterpark that could be used all year long. And on those hot summer days the roof could be retracted to let the sunlight in. But I know that's millions of dollars. But a new baseball stadium could have been built considering how much over budget that jail was. I think a Dave and Busters would go great downtown along with some actual fast food joints as long as they were done tastefully.

[OCA REP]

Originally Posted by jmanhsv

Also, aquariums work better in cities near a significant body of water-- lake, bay, river, etc-- with a variety of aquatic species.

OK, OK... IF an aquarium has to be built in Alabama, I guess we can do it down here in Montgomery along the ALABAMA RIVER and make it the STATE aquarium. I am not a fan of this plan, but it might be another jewel in the crown we have been developing downtown.

[ThatGuy]

Originally Posted by Alabadrock

As for the Stars going to AAA, it's entirely possible. I mean, if Jackson, TN can have a AA team, Huntsville could have a AAA team. That being said, the Barons would likely be the one to jump to AAA if any team in Alabama did.

I think the trend now is to have the AAA team be close to the Parent team to facilitate a quick/cheap call-up to fill in for injuries.

The play on the field isn't enough to entice visitors. This is an "American Idol" society. We have to be SOLD. Going to the game has to be an EVENT. I don't think attendance would be that much higher if the games/parking were free.

Since the best place for a new stadium would be the current Coke building, they could call it Coke Field (as somebody already suggested) but they could also make it a miniature version of the Coke Museum in Atlanta with interactive exhibits for the kids.

The park could also lease out an outfield location for a sports bar overlooking the field. Something like that would be very attractive to me if I were staying downtown for convention.

[ThatGuy]

Originally Posted by Huntsville_secede

Ok so this so called Dave and Buster's type place um they forgot to actually put some games in there. I was very disappointing its nothing like Dave and Buster's. It's basically an upscale bowling alley with a restaurant kinda like Tin Pin Alley by Dolce group that they were originally planning on building. We still need a real Dave and Buster's type place.

Looks like they are trying to sell it already...

[-=skywalker=-]

Personally I think building a state aquarium in Huntsville would be a waste, I'd rather see that kind of thing in Montgomery or Mobile. The TN Aquarium is only an hour to an hour & a half away.

I do however agree we can expand on the science and space exploration theme, like a state-of-the-art world class science museum with a planetarium. That is Huntsville's niche, it makes the city unique in the region and would be a big boost to continue to grow on it.

Also, a new stadium downtown would be a great idea and would spur downtown retail/restaurant developement as well as a need for another hotel. Whether Huntsville get's a AAA team or not, a new stadium downtown can be used for other events, such as concerts and downtown festivals (Big Spring Jam).

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Expanding on the Space Exploration theme would be the best bet for Huntsville. There really aren't any other space museums anywhere nearby. The closest legit one would probably be Kennedy in Florida.

[jmanhsv]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

Well one of the largest tourist attractions in Alabama every year is the Space Center and HSV/Madison County. People who don't live here view us in a different light.
The top five counties with the largest travel-related expenditures are: Baldwin County with almost $2.3 billion in travel-related spending, Jefferson County was second with more than $1.5 billion, Madison County was third at $991 million, Mobile County ranked fourth with more than $944 million and Montgomery County was fifth with nearly $558 million.
Source Governors press release April 17, 2009

It would be interesting a breakdown of those numbers-- the $20 I spent on gas last week could be seen as a "travel-related expense."

By the way, according to the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development, in 2007, the "economic impact" of tourism in Chattanooga/Hamilton County was $710.4 million. You can't tell me that Chattanooga, with its national ad campaigns and strategic location, is getting almost $200 million less in tourism annually than Huntsville. If that's true, then I've seriously underestimated this city's tourism industry.

[SpawnOfVulcan]

I think what might be happening with those numbers, jman, is all of Hamilton County's tourism is basically based in Chattanooga. And there is only so much you can fit in one city that doesn't sit on the coast.

That being said, there has to be a different way of calculating the tourism dollars between Tennessee and Alabama.

[huntsville_rocks]

I think the baseball park would be a waste. If I want to go to a game, I can make a day trip to the Braves, if I really loved baseball or wanted to watch it, or take some kids there. The Stars play 70 games in huntsville, I seriously doubt less than 10% of the population could or would go to all 70 home games. I mean, you are talking about weeknights, back to back, that takes a committment, and maybe lots of money and no job to worry about, so I personally think it is a waste. I might go to 3 or 4 games a year, and that would be enough for me. Its not some everyday thing.
As far as the aquarium, I too think its a great idea. Everytime I have been to an aquarium, its packed with kids, on school trips, or families. It would make alot of money, and I would expect the target audience to be kids and families. Everytime someone goes to chattanooga, thats money huntsville is losing. And for someone to say they would go to the aquarium once and never again, I suppose you never go the rocket center either right?
And I would expect huntsville's tourism industry is highly boosted by government tdy into the area every week. These folks come here spending lots of money, but obvioulsy they arent going to watch minor league baseball on a weeknight til midnight. Just my thoughts...

[stallty]

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=171419

I found this on the Building and Architecture forum. It list the west precinct as best in class for brick buildings. It is definitely a good looking building for Huntsville.