KK wrong about success of ASG

[dirk digler]

Originally Posted by Saul Good

Power and Light is dead during most weeknights. It absolutely suffers from lack of attendance.

As far as attendance goes, that is only a small piece of my larger point. Someone earlier suggested an increase of only 3,000, which is probably about right, although I think it underestimates the number of corporate season ticket packages that would be sold.

The larger point is the economic impact on the surrounding area. What did Jackson get for the money?

I know what David Glass got. The value of his team increased, and he gets luxury suites to sell.

Meanwhile, nobody is going to shop at a store near the stadium while they kill time waiting for the game to start. Nobody is going to eat at a restaurant near the stadium before they go to the game. Nobody is meeting up for drinks afterwards, not near the stadium, anyway.

If I buy hamburgers and cook them in the parking lot, that makes no economic impact that wouldn't have been achieved by cooking them at home. Truth is, I probably bought those burgers from Hen House outside of Jackson County either way.

If I go to a concert on a Friday night at the Sprint Center, I probably go straight from work, eat at a restaurant near there, go to the concert, and maybe hit up P&L for some drinks afterwards if my old ass isn't too tired from arguing on the internet all day.

If I go to a Royals game on a Friday night, I go home for an hour or so (I work in OP) and either eat at home or grab something on the way. I spend zero dollars in Jackson County that aren't directly related to the game. How does that help recoup the investment?

You make some valid points Saul but P&L was built along with the Sprint Center because the thought was they were guaranteed a NHL or NBA team. Neither has happened and probably won't for the foreseeable future.

[Saul Good]

Originally Posted by dirk digler

You make some valid points Saul but P&L was built along with the Sprint Center because the thought was they were guaranteed a NHL or NBA team. Neither has happened and probably won't for the foreseeable future.

True. That is yet another black eye for our city planning. I don't get too caught up in that one for the reason Reaper mentioned earlier. The Sprint Center is more than pulling it's own weight even without a team. That said, it's not what the taxpayers were promised nor wanted.

It's a waste that all this money was dumped into these grandiose ventures, yet they do so little to complement one another.

The greater KC area has some of the best facilities in the country, but they are all over the place.

You have the renovated stadiums out at Raytown Road and the Blue Ridge Cutoff. You have the Sprint Center downtown, you have Livestrong and Community America in Wyandotte, you have the soccer complex in Overland Park, and you have the Hockey arena in Independence.

I look at what has been done on the west side of State Line, and I see a vision. I look east, and I'm not sure what I see.

It isn't that difficult to envision a scenario in which Kansas City would have the Sprint center where it currently sits, Kaufman Stadium where the new performing arts center is, Livestrong and the soccer complex where Bannister Mall was, the Independence Events Center where it currently sits, a renovated Arrowhead where it currently sits, and the NASCAR track right next to it along with the casinos, restaurants, shopping, etc. that went along with it.

Every one of those things were proposed, and every one of them got done. It's just that a lot of them got done at other locations to the detriment of Jackson County.

I'm not pissed about it. What's done is done, but I'm not going to bury my head in the sand and ignore it so that when the next great opportunity knocks we shit the bed again because we refuse to acknowledge past mistakes and learn from them.