Wow.
This guy at the Erie Times-News named Peter Panepento runs a blog called Inside Erie. He has an absolutely devastating take on what's happening with the new convention center in town. You know, cost overruns, wildly optimistic revenue projections, the slow realization that every other city, large and small, has built a similar facility in recent years, all with the promise of economic salvation. Well, it seems like the good people of Erie are catching on.
Actually, the blog post isn't all that complete. I caught wind of this through an e-mail newsletter affiliated with the blog. You can go to goerie.com and sign up, too. You might want to. Here are some excerpts from the convention center piece:
This is supposed to be a proud time for supporters of the bayfront convention center.
The big, gleaming new center - a project that has been talked about for years as a key to Erie’s downtown revitalization - is taking shape just west of Dobbins Landing. The supporters have vanquished the naysayers. They can finally puff out their chests and begin boasting about the thousands of new visitors who will soon be spending money at Erie’s hotels, restaurants and shops. Erie has something to feel good about - an opportunity to improve the area’s economic fortunes and bolster its shaky self image. Victory is sweet, right?
Well, not exactly.
It seems that while the pro-convention center crowd won the physical battle, it is getting killed in the arena of public opinion.
Many in the community have doubted whether the center would ever actually pay for itself. They’ve pointed to dozens of other convention centers across the country that are sitting largely empty because of lack of demand. They’ve argued that other public projects - such as the Blasco Library, Jerry Uht Park and the Bayfront Connector - have not been enough to reverse Erie’s economic decline.
Now comes news that the Erie County Convention Center Authority needs another $6.5 million to finish the project.
...It’s not a surprise that when GoErie.com asked this week whether the $6.5 million needed to complete the center as planned should be the county’s top capital budget priority, nearly 90 percent said no.
It’s not a surprise that an entire topic of our reader message board is devoted to opinions critical of the project.
Most of those who are venting about the convention center know that the authority will ultimately get the $6.5 million. They also know there is nothing they can do to stop it. The naysayers see the $6.5 million shortfall as nothing more than a calculated move by those who were behind the project to undersell its cost - then come back later to ask for more money to finish the job.
Whether that perception is true doesn’t matter. The feeling exists - and it’s strong.
And it’s preventing those who support the convention center from capturing the imagination of the community that is paying for it.
Oof! Well written, Mr. Panepento. That's the first thing of his I have read. But it won't be the last. So, you know, go sigh up for the blog. And the newsletter if you can figure out how. I'll try to get a better link...
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