Nov 3, 2011

Pawlowski's Palace of Sport


Although the Arena/Concert Venue will not open for over a year, attendance is already down over 1 million people. Only several months ago, Mayor Pawlowski told City Council that the Center would attract 1.5 million people annually. Earlier, he used the figure of two million. Although his current figure of 500,000 is more realistic, there's still no lack of sugarplums. The Morning Call uses the term vision, hallucination would be more accurate. The best guess estimate for the 40 home hockey games would be 200,000, requiring an additional draw of 300,000 for concerts. Between the lines, his mention that real estate taxes may be necessary to finance the project, is the writing on the wall. Also translating political speak into english, there are no plans, whatsoever, for parking and traffic. His claim that the hockey fans will visit upscale restaurants and stores after the games is beyond wishful thinking.

Here is the Shadow Mayor's* take; The square block White Elephant will sit dormant most days and nights of the year, creating a ghost town feeling, sucking whatever life downtown had remaining. Stores and restaurants, induced by grants and incentives, will wither and drop away when the owners must start reaching into their own pockets. On the sixty or so nights a game or event takes place, the restaurants will do virtually no business, as the fans scurry back to their cars afterwards. Welcome to the bitterness of the sugarplum's reality.

*a self anointed title I bestowed upon myself

20 comments:

  1. Too close for comfort. Check out the front page space (in otherwise sadly often violent city news reports.) Did you notice the drawing depicts cars driving south from Hamilton and turning left onto 7th? Hmmm.

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  2. The mayor claims that 1500 parking spots are available right on the streets of Allentown.
    Just where the hell are we citizens supposed to park during these so called events?
    Is this another windfall for the Allentown Parking Authority?

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  3. Just where the hell are we citizens supposed to park during these so called events?
    Is this another windfall for the Allentown Parking Authority?

    November 3, 2011 7:02 AM

    Forget about it. Simply truth. You don't matter!

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  4. Hockey fans will visit upscale restaurants? Come on----all the hockey fans I know are beer and pizza---they will not even eat Chinese because it is foreign.

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  5. No, we are the local trash that will and are causing the mayor's real people to stay far from this decrepit city center.
    .
    How's business going
    at at the mayor's folly eateries???
    That gaudy place with the purple lights on 6th St.looks empty most of the week.

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  6. Send a message on Election Day.

    Vote as many as you can out of office.

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  7. Wait till we all get hit with the additional taxes to pay for this thing.......

    Vote for change on Tuesday.......

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  8. So all my Anon friends, what r we going to do about it?

    Call 10 friends the next 4 days and tell them to vote for change!!

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  9. Hizzoner should have built a circus downtown since it seems like there are dozens born every minute in Allentown. We all seem to accept this guys pitch no matter what he actually does. He his grip is tighter on this city than any pol In history, even joe bagadonuts!

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  10. well the hockey players will not be eating at the upscale restaurants----none of hem have teeth--great post "shadow mayor"

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  11. The hockey rink will be built. Reily will make a fortune. Butz will get something somehow. Other fat cats will get rich on bonds, deals and swaps. The banks will get huge fees and we will pay the bill. I am sorry but I no longer want to subsidize the affluent. I know many of the posters on this blog think this is class warfare. If it is then the middle class has lost!

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  12. Most games in fall/winter/spring
    Most games on school nights
    Games start 7 p.m.
    Games over appx 10 p.m.
    20 minutes to leave building
    10 minutes to walk to car
    30 minute drive home
    Few, if any are going to local restaurants post-game...with little time pre-game to get the kids and find a restaurant...then get to game at 7 p.m.

    My guess: local hockey fans will stay home and watch the 'real' team in Philly play all 80-some on tv.
    And if you think hockey is so popular in this market just ask where Flyers games aare played on LV radio.

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  13. "Who knows what evil subsidies and political kickbacks lies in the hearts of corrupt political hacks...The Shadow Mayor knows..."

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  14. FutureDowntownArenaAttendeeNovember 3, 2011 at 10:23 PM

    MM, how can you say this?

    "Also translating political speak into english, there are no plans, whatsoever, for parking and traffic."

    When in the article it says that there have been studies.

    "It does not, however, include a parking deck because Pawlowski said studies performed this fall show that many of the nearly 9,000 garage, lot and street parking spaces within a few block of the arena go unused — even during the typical work day.

    And recently completed traffic studies show that multiple paths into the downtown will keep traffic jams limited to just before and immediately after major events.
    "It will disperse quickly," said Rob Robinson, a project manager for arena developer Hammes Company Sports Development Inc. of Madison., Wis. "You won't have extended periods where it's backed up.""

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  15. FutureDowntownArenaAttendeeNovember 3, 2011 at 10:30 PM

    Also the 1.5 million number was a number that has come from the studies of total people to an area within a year just not to the arena directly.

    Also I think it is very dishonest to say that only 200k will show up. This area has a ton of hockey fans and is proven to support its local team, i.e. The Ironpigs. Coca-Cola filled itself to 92.4% of its max capacity for the 2011 year. So for arguments sake lets say the same for the new arena. That number would be 314,160.

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  16. Pawlowski said studies performed this fall show that many of the nearly 9,000 garage, lot and street parking spaces within a few block of the arena go unused — even during the typical work day.
    .
    Utter BS!
    Take a ride through the city and see for your selves.

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  17. lady Macbeth said...

    well the hockey players will not be eating at the upscale restaurants----none of hem have teeth--great post "shadow mayor"

    November 3, 2011 9:36 AM

    BEST LINE OF THE YEAR!

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  18. No puck about it, Future Arena fan suspect is certain political family member.

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  19. "FutureDAA" compares minor league hockey to the Iron Pigs. Not so fast. One cannot compare attendance at Taxpayer Park on a warm summer's night watching the national passtime, against a freezing winter's night watching a tertiary sport in a dangerous downtown arena. And babeball is played with no school the next day, while hockey is not. Maybe they can get some Chamber members to buy blocks of tickets for a year or two...but after that we'll see attendance wane.

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  20. I was invited to be a member of a community group working on some zoning by the Allentown Parking Authority. Being a citizen of Allentown my entire life I was the only member to have actually been in the NEW OFFICE OF THE PARKING AUTHORITY THAT FELL INTO THE SINKHOLE AT 7TH. I was one of only a few that even knew there was a NEW PARKING AUTHORITY office at 7 TH before it fell into the sinkhole. We got a Mayor who lived in Chicago and others in our city and county governments who have no history with or of Allentown. This city is more than a stepping stone for our life long residents, it is home. We had ST. Patrick's Day Parades for decades, no one shot guns in the air, no one ran lights or stops signs blowing their horn and everyone was Irish for a Day. It never had to be canceled or rerouted. We had Memorial Day and Veteran Day parades and recognitions every year growing up in Allentown. Mr. Morton Sherr my 12 TH Grade Homeroom teacher was a WWII Veteran. He made it clear it expected to hear us call his name out when he marched with his Veterans group. Now we have NOTHING. A Belgium friend asked what our city was doing for Memorial Day this year, I said nothing. The county had a short service at West Park and that was it. Believe me the Europeans our Veterans died for have not forgotten our Veterans even if our city leaders have.

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