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| Orlando,FL with the Amway Center on the left and Amway Arena on the right |
But a few weeks ago, the city of Orlando did something that is making everyone in the entire country think twice about wanting to live in Orlando. What possible mistake could Orlando make that has everyone second guessing their government? It is none other than the demolition of Amway Arena, the original home of the Orlando Magic...
If you look at the EarthCam today of the site, you will see only the four corner pilllars standing...
http://www.earthcam.com/client/creativevillage/
With the Magic and the city of Orlando finally finding the financing for the brand new Amway Center, why would demolishing Amway Arena be seen as wasteful, a mistake, and a sign of government incompetence?
To get a true perspective of just how wasteful and regressive this decision was, it is important to understand the past few years of urban planning in Orlando.
By 2005, Orlando's downtown venues were getting old. The Orlando Magic had already threatened to leave if they did not get a new arena. It is believed that the Magic talked with Kansas City, Louisville, St. Louis, Norfolk, Anaheim, Las Vegas, and Oklahoma City among many other cities about relocating their NBA franchise.
At the same time, the University of Central Florida had grown impatient with the Citrus Bowl which was falling into disrepair at an alarming rate. In 2007, UCF decided to leave the Citrus Bowl and construct Bright House Networks Stadium. They also opened up the 10,000 seat UCF Arena on campus in 2007 which ended any hopes of the Knights basketball team taking over Amway Arena.
While Downtown Orlando watched their facilities quickly deteriorate, International Drive on the outskirts of Orlando was thriving with Walt Disney World, Seaworld, and just about any other attraction that brings in out-of-town tourists. At the same time, other cities such as Indianapolis, Oklahoma City, and San Antonio were putting together urban renewal programs that totaled over a billion dollars each in order to turn their downtowns around.
So in 2006, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer decided that it was time for the city to act. He called together city leaders, residents of Orlando, as well as all of the urban planning experts he could find to put together a plan that would keep Downtown Orlando competitive with other cities as well as other venues right outside of the city. During the process, the city decided on the following things...
1. They needed a football stadium to retain their 2 NCAA Bowl Games. They could either renovate the Citrus Bowl, build a new stadium downtown, or let a private developer build one out by International Drive.
2. They needed a new arena in order to retain the Orlando Magic. The Magic made it very clear that they were not interested in staying in Orlando if they were going to be forced to play at the Amway Arena. They quickly rejected any efforts to renovate the facility as well. If they didn't get a new arena, the team was as good as gone.
3. They needed to embrace the arts more. Orlando is known for having an enormous amount of young professionals who are good at technology and arts of all kinds. In order to retain these highly educated young professionals, they needed to embrace technology and the arts.
After following different branches on different ideas, the city was ready to put together a formal plan. On September 29, 2006, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer released the plan dubbed the "Triple Crown for Downtown."
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=397279
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2006-09-30/A%20SECTION/MVENUES30_1_orlando-magic-downtown-orlando-central-florida
This plan, which totaled over $1.1 billion, included the following...
-a new $480-million arena for the Orlando Magic
-a new $375-million performing arts center
- $175 million in Citrus Bowl renovations
The plan called for funding via taxes from tourists. As of today, 1 of the three facilities has been completed while another is still under construction. The new arena for the Orlando Magic, which we now know to be Amway Center, has been open for over a year and hosted this year's NBA All-Star Game. The Performing Arts Center, which is now known as the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, broke ground in 2011 and is still under construction due to the city deciding to fund the project in phases because of lower tax revenue.
But as of today, the Citrus Bowl has seen less than $10 million in renovations. Just yesterday, current Orlando Mayor Teresa Jacobs said the Citrus Bowl won't be seeing any more renovations in the near future unless the private sector steps up...
http://www.myfoxorlando.com/dpp/news/orange_news/041012-citrus-bowl-wont-be-fixed-early
What happened? Why didn't the Citrus Bowl receive its renovation? Did the NCAA pull the Capital One and Champs Sports Bowls out of the facility?
The answer is very simple, Orlando failed to plan and as a result they ran out of money. In 2008, when the economy plunged, tourism dollars dried up. Instead of the city using their existing facilities to accomplish their goals, they instead elected to abandon almost all of their existing facilities.
By now, most of you probably know where I'm going with this. But for those who don't, let's take a look at what could have been. You see, the city of Orlando could have easily trimmed the $175 million needed for the Citrus Bowl by repurposing Amway Arena as Orlando's performing arts center. Let's take a look at what the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts Center will have in it when finally completed...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Phillips_Center_for_Performing_Arts
"The venue will feature a 2,700-seat amplified hall for Broadway theater-class play events, a 1,700-seat acoustic hall for ballet, operas and orchestral performances, and a 300-seat venue for smaller functions."
Although the idea of repurposing Amway Arena was briefly discussed, Orlando city officials never gave it much consideration. Many argued that Amway Arena would not be a good place for a performing arts center. Yet, just this past year, the group Cirque du Soleil set up shop temporarily inside the facility and it had an enormous impact on the local economy...
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_stage_theat/2011/04/cirque-du-soleil-rehearsing-inside-old-amway-arena.html
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| Photo Credit: Orlando Sentinel |
"For the past few weeks, Cirque du Soleil has taken over the discarded Amway Arena, and the corridors are once again humming with energy.
“It is absolutely wonderful,” said Alan Johnson, Orlando venues executive.
Not only was Johnson pleased to see the building in use again, the city has received a financial windfall through the deal.
Cirque du Soleil pays $2,500 per day plus expenses to rent the arena, Johnson said, but that isn’t the full financial impact.
“Two hundred employees and contractors from out of town are staying in our hotels, eating in our restaurants,” said Johnson. About 100 Central Floridians have worked on the project as well.
“Considering we didn’t count on revenue from that space during this time, it’s a great economic boost,” Johnson said.
Cirque du Soleil executives were thrilled to find the space. They are developing “Zarkana,” a show that will debut at New York’s Radio City Music Hall in June. But filling Radio City’s giant stage meant creating a set too big to fit in Cirque’s facilities in Montreal.
“We put it all together here for the first time,” said the production’s technical director, David Churchill. “We needed somewhere with high ceilings and no support beams in the way.”"
The city of Orlando could have had a performing arts center with ceilings as high as New York's Radio City Music Hall. They could have also had renovations completed on the Citrus Bowl. They also could already have a performing arts center nearing completion. But in the end, they lost it all due to political incompetence.
If you think the story ends there, you're wrong. Apparently, the city of Orlando wasn't done making mistakes. Since the city decided not to use Amway Arena as a performing arts center, they had to make a decision on what to do with it. Without much thought, the city elected to demolish the venue and construct a "Creative Village" on the lot.
What is a "Creative Village?"...
http://www.cityoforlando.net/elected/venues/creative.htm
The Creative Village builds on the success of Orlando’s digital media industry by transforming the former site of the Amway Arena in Downtown Orlando into a 68-acre mixed-use, transit-oriented, urban infill neighborhood that will be home to leading higher education providers; high-tech, digital media and creative companies; and a diverse mix of students, employees and residents. Creative Village fosters a “live, work, learn and play” lifestyle in the heart of Downtown Orlando while bringing exciting opportunities to the Parramore area.
Don't get me wrong, Orlando's "Creative Village" is a good idea on the surface. Basically, it's a tech park which is what I am asking Evansville Mayor Lloyd Winnecke to consider at the corner of US 41 and the Lloyd Expressway...
http://evansvillemovingforward.blogspot.com/2011/09/commissioner-winneckes-tech-park-good.html
Unfortunately, there are two glaring problems with this plan. First of all, the idea that Amway Arena would have to be demolished for this project isn't true. In fact, the land it sits on will be a park (sound familiar?)...
(Note: It is the green space underneath the yellow and purple area)
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Photo Credit: City of Orlando Creative Village Proposalwe |
Secondly, the plan calls for development that could have fit in the arena including...
900,000 – 1,000,000 square feet of office/creative space
300,000 – 500,000 square feet of higher education space
25,000 square feet of K-12 education space
1,200 – 1,500 residential units
125,000 – 150,000 square feet of retail/commercial space
150 – 200 hotel rooms.
Once more, the city will have to pay to construct another building that could have went inside the old Amway Arena. However, what really makes demolishing Amway Arena the biggest waste of taxpayer dollars is the way the city performed the task. Initially, the city was going to take the facility down piece by piece but opted to implode the facility instead. This decision likely cost the city over $2 million...
http://www.wftv.com/news/news/local/amway-arena-be-imploded-orlando-losing-out-million/nLXKn/
"The city is putting up $2 million for the arena to be imploded.
But WFTV discovered a rodeo magnate in Brazil wanted to buy the arena's metal superstructure for nearly $2 million and move it to South America.
The Brazilian businessman's Orlando partners say they are surprised the city is passing on the offer to more slowly disassemble the building and ship it south to put it back together again.
They say the city never responded to a detailed proposal submitted late last year."
That's right, there was a company that was going to pay the city $2 million for Amway Arena so that they could move the structure to South America where they would rebuild the facility. Instead, the city choose to pay $2 million themselves for demolition and ended up with a huge pile of rubble.
What the city of Orlando did was a disgrace. Downtown Orlando became what it is today by the Orlando Magic putting it on the map with superstars like Shaquille O'Neal, Penny Hardaway, Horace Grant, and Nick Anderson. The city could have capitalized on this competitive advantage by repurposing the arena which would have saved the city millions and would have given tourists who come to see the Orlando Magic the opportunity to see firsthand how the franchise grew. It would have also fit into the Creative Village proposal rather nicely, serving as a school, an indoor gathering place for technology clients, and/or a tech-testing facility. But in the end, the city didn't care and their residents will pay dearly for it out of their wallets as a result.
What can we learn from Orlando and how can we use this information here?
It's very simple. Tearing down Roberts Stadium, like the implosion of Amway Arena, will cost our city dearly while serving no purpose. It will do nothing for the city other than make the local citizens mad at the government for wasting yet another opportunity to grow Evansville.
The main point we should take from Orlando is that we MUST maximize our existing facilities and combine them in our projects if we truly want to develop a plan that grows Evansville and makes financial sense at the same time. Yes, building the ball fields at Kleymeyer Park next to Boose Field, renovating Roberts Stadium, and increasing our support for the Ford Center will allow us to form a three-way triangle where each piece promotes the other.
If we don't use proper urban planning, we could end up losing Roberts Stadium and Bosse Field which only hurts our city not helps it. Losing both of these venues would do significant damage to the Ford Center as well as these two facilities bring in tourists to Evansville who want to attend multiple events while they are in town.
There really is only one good thing we can take from the demolition of Amway Arena, and that is the fact that we now know that we must SAVE ROBERTS STADIUM!
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| orlandovenues.net |
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