On Tailgaters, Tiny Violins, and An Ugly Stretch of Broken Concrete
At first I was going to play the world’s tiniest violin for these tailgaters who will soon lose their party space to a new hotel, retail stores, etc. In the battle between “people getting drunk and fat” and “real economic development”, I’ve got to take the latter.
But not so fast. Tailgating is an important part of the game day experience, and a good game day experience is, in a very real way, important to Lincoln’s economy. So while I’m most certainly not going to support holding up development efforts just so we can keep a few empty parking lots for use seven times each year, Lincoln really ought to think about what we can do to improve game day. Which brings me to…
Centennial Mall, which just happens to be a hot topic these days. It’s not as close to Memorial Stadium as would be ideal, but it’s not too far away. Can I get an amen on at least considering how we might use Centennial Mall to boost the Husker game day experience?
The Comments
Gene says RE: On Tailgaters, Tiny Violins, and An Ugly Stretch of Broken Concrete November 9, 2009 at 9:36am
I think using Centennial Mall is a great idea.
SimCity says Lincoln a Real Life SimCity??? November 9, 2009 at 1:55pm
I’m all for development but we have to be realistic - after all Lincoln is not a simulation game. The Mayor and Vision 2015 want add retail and restaurants at the following locations – (1) around the Haymarket Arena; (2) along Centennial Mall; (3) the “ P & Q Street Retail Corridor”; (4) Catalyst Block (former Douglas and Starship Theatres); and (5) Archer’s Hotel Block at 10th and M Streets – just in the downtown area! Lincoln can barely support the retail it currently has and struggles to attract regional and national chains beyond what it already has.
Peter says Seems like it would be November 9, 2009 at 4:16pm
Seems like it would be easy and non-disruptive to traffic to block off the 3 blocks of street from M to P and make it Tailgate Central. Pretty short walk (or stagger) to the stadium.
As for renovation… yea it needs it. The northern most fountains haven’t been on for at least 3 summers.