on the election


Posted by gypsyfrocksbedlam ® , Sep 30,2003,18:36   MetroBlab
Just noted in perusing the election coverage that Madeline came out against a new CC hotel (yay) and Haslam sounds pretty mush-mouthed about downtown development -- I noticed he said "maybe a new movie theater" (emphasis added). Maybe? The entire Market Square plan as proposed and passed by City Council depends on the movie theater as a central economic engine. I know some people don't like the idea of subsidizing a movie theater, but for chrissakes, it's a relatively low-cost and low-stake investment that would at the very least be a nice asset for many thousands of people who actually live in Knoxville (and who get no benefit whatsoever from the $160-million convention center, unless you count the civic pride of paying their taxes).

It would be entirely typical of Knoxville to spend the money to rip up Market Square and Krutch Park but not actually provide the movie theater. (Interestingly, a lot of people involved in the movie theater and Market Square project have been Haslam supporters; it'll be interesting to see how they react if he gets elected and pulls the plug on their baby.)

Anyway, may the best woman win.

Followups


 on the election

Re: on the election -- gypsyfrocksbedlam
Posted by Jester_Fermaggio ® , Sep 30,2003,19:21   MetroBlab
I haven't seen what they have done to Market Square and the old Krutch Park. I only come back to Knoxvegas once or twice a year, so I never have to time for going downtown. Is it just a great big parking lot? Are any of the old businesses still there?

I know a lot of vagrants would hang out in the park, but that was a cool little park.

on the election

Re: on the election -- gypsyfrocksbedlam
Posted by Lysander Spooner ® , Sep 30,2003,18:48   MetroBlab
A theatre might work in downtown Knoxville, but let the people decide that and spend their money from their own pocket instead of City Council giving another handout. We already saw what happened with the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame and Universe Knoxville which thankfully didn't go through.
on the election

Re: on the election -- Lysander Spooner
Posted by gypsyfrocksbedlam ® , Sep 30,2003,19:10   MetroBlab
It doesn't seem likely that anyone's going to build a movie theater downtown with some subsidy. They have their neat little corporate formulas for where and what they build, and downtowns generally don't fit into neat little corporate formulas (don't get me started on the corporate formula mindset -- although if Haslam gets elected, you'll get to see it in action, and it ain't pretty -- devoid of imagination, afraid of anything it doesn't understand, unable to understand anything it's afraid of, and always chasing after whatever worked last year without understanding why it worked last year and why it might not work this year...hey, surely there are other people here besides me who have worked for corporations, right?).

I think a downtown movie theater, if done well (there's always that caveat), could be a good community investment. And it would cost a hell of a lot less and improve local quality of life a hell of a lot more than the stupid convention center.

on the election

Re: on the election -- gypsyfrocksbedlam
Posted by gypsyfrocksbedlam ® , Sep 30,2003,19:29   MetroBlab
er, that first sentence should have said "without some subsidy" -- and I'm a copyeditor, too...scary, isn't it?