Thought bubbles

Recently, I've had no less than two people express their anger to me over the approval of the city's new downtown arena/performing-arts deal.

I just don't see it. I just can't figure out how it could be a bad thing.

Yes, I will fully accept that the price tag -- more than one beeeellion dollars -- is jaw-dropping. And wouldn't that kind of money be better spent bolstering law enforcement, fixing roads and feeding the homeless (oh wait -- in this city, we arrest people who try to do that)?

However, the flip side is that, as the saying goes, you have to spend money to make money. And, obviously, this is a long-term investment for the city. A bigger, fancy arena will attract bigger, better tours. Complain that decent musical acts always go to Tampa, Miami and Jacksonville but never come here? Well, that will never change if we stick with what we have now: a mediocre arena and a Bob Carr so old, it has barely changed since I moved here in the early 1980s.

By the way, all three of those cities have major sports teams. I'm not a sports fan. I want to be up front with that. But if our city ever wants to rise above its cowtown-pretending-to-be-a-city reputation, it has to invest in its major-sports team, whether it be good or bad. Having a major-sport team raises a city's profile on the national stage, thereby attracting business (read: money), providing free advertising for the city and creating jobs (that may or may not be low-wage, but that's the nature of a tourist town).

Had we caved to the tourism-industry moguls who demanded the new arena be built on I-Drive, that would have furthered the city's image of perpetually living in the shadow of Daddy Disney. During the county-commission meeting in which the plan was approved, the Orange County Convention Center's biggest client threatened the commission with a vow to take his business elsewhere unless the new arena were built on I-Drive.

That threat rankles me, and I'm glad our city finally had the guts to stand up to the demands of the tourism industry for once. The city just spent a billion dollars renovating and adding to the convention center. How much more do they want?

Half the cost of the arena/performing-arts plan will be funded by taxing tourists more. Believe me, they don't need the arena or the money. With the pound worth twice as much as the dollar and the euro worth about 40 cents more, I'm sure European tourists will still consider coming here a steal compared with 'holidaying' in Europe.

The biggest plus I see in all this: another reason to bring light rail back to the table. Remember the debate that raged several years ago between the city, county and tourist industry over whether to invest in light rail and where the stops would be? Yeah, special interests managed to kill that one on the vine. Decent public transportation for the city's residents down the tubes. But with a new arena and performing-arts center, you could argue that the influx of pedestrian and car traffic downtown would create a need for a metro that could bring people to and from games and concerts. Heck, who wouldn't take it over trying to park downtown?

As for the argument that the money the city will spend on the arena/performing-arts center plan would be better served fighting crime and repairing infrastructure, I think that could be said about any huge governmental expense. In a city this size, there's never enough law enforcement or road repair. But perhaps with the potential for revenue and the creation of a need for decent mass transit, the problem will be a part of the solution.

Current mood: Spent
Current music: Chains / The Wolfgang Press