No community plans. No neighborhood hearings. No assurances that Nashville can afford it.
Metro Council has until June 7 to amend the capital budget. If you have concerns I encourage you to contact your council members before then.
UPDATE: Is the City Paper's Metro beat reporter, Joey Garrison, who has latched on to the possibility of a new ballpark voraciously and breathlessly in the past couple of years, downplaying the 2011-12 stadium line item via Twitter? Nothing to see here, move along, eh?
This is from the North County Times, a California paper. The article looks at pros and cons of minor league parks. Specifically, this story considers a park in Escondido, CA.
ReplyDeleteI pulled this from the article:
"A Vanderbilt University economics professor who studied several minor league ballparks in the 1990s found that their economic impact was small, comparing them with that created by a typical drug store or large pet store as far as jobs and tax revenue.
The professor, John Siegfried, said cities should view such ballparks solely as a community amenity, not as something that will help the local economy or change a city's image."
To read entire article:
http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/escondido/article_6a7089b0-0502-539e-9cd6-8a6195378187.html
Garrison may downplay it because its been in the capital plan for several years. But few recall that it's been there. And more importantly it is particularly sensitive now considering that the study is being done. This the first time it's a real possibility. And to think, journalists in this town won't explain it.
ReplyDeleteI don't view Garrison's message as a downplay......just simply a fact.
ReplyDeleteIt's a downplay, a reason why not to write about it this particular time even though the prospect of it is more real than in previous years because the site study is being done. There a lot of people who don't remember that it's been in the budget in previous years. The job of a journalist is to explain that regardless.
ReplyDeleteI tend to agree with the side that calls this whitewash, given the context that planning is already occurring with the RFP. Garrison responded to my post on Twitter overemphasizing the boundary between capital budgets and planning:
ReplyDeletehttp://twitter.com/#!/joeygarrison/status/71640336547586048
That is a rationalization in my opinion. The Civic Design Center, a regular partner with Metro capital projects in the planning stages, has already introduced stadium concepts based on other cities' facilities. The RFP is planning, because all of the studies that it employees are designed for the planning stage. The journalist is not helping us stay informed by soft-pedaling the process and by splitting hairs.
...then don't read his paper/articles...
ReplyDeleteI restate, this has been a line item in the capital budget for years. You can criticize the process all you care but, in my humble opinion, how do criticize a tweet that was a fact.
In my opinion, news is not just a product to be consumed like choosing paper or plastic bags. Journos are gatekeepers who gain access to the inner workings of local government. They rely on spin that the Mayor's communication office wants people to hear. As such they should be questioned just like our government should. They control and manage popular perception, and this is not just a matter of ignoring the message even when we don't like to hear it. We choose not to read them at our own peril.
ReplyDelete