IP mentioned the mcleancountypundit blog on here a while back. I have been checking it mainly for stories about their new coliseum. It is a cool building, it will probably provide a foundation for some decent development in its vicinity, it allows Bloomington to have an indoor football team play during the summer (what does C-U have when school is out?), and it has cost the city over $300,000 in May. They projected a loss of $1.6 million for the fiscal year ending April 08, but this start puts that estimate in doubt. Capital projects and city staffing will likely suffer.
Mayors, councilmen, take heed.
Side note: looks like Sammy Hagar will be playing on Oct. 27 :-)
Indoor football? If I want that much excitement I'll just watch reruns of women's basketball on the BigTen network...
SAMMY ROCKS! LONG LIVE THE RED ROCKER!
Champaign and Urbana just need to sit back and let the U of I provide all the entertainment and facilities for its citizens. The city leaders have enough to do just providing minimal required services.
Urbana has better things to do, like save it's citizens from it's police force. After that they can scour the city and make sure it's still nuclear free
We certainly would not want to follow in Bloomington-Normal's footsteps. They take chances and spend like drunken sailors.
I think our community ought to strive to be more like Danville, or maybe Decatur.
5 years from now B-N will be saying "Why did we ever build this expensive asset?", just like they always say about their airport.
I'm from Bloomington, and most of us feel, now that it's here, we need to support it and we want it to be successful.
The way it was handled from the onset, was the problem; secret meetings, no public input; then, the Council at that time (most have been defeated who pushed for the vote), knowing the Referendum was coming the next month. They knew the public was against building it downtown. The vote was to build it; the next month the public voted 2-1 NOT to build it.
I think also the voters did not believe the City Manager's, nor his handpicked advisors' statements that it would turn a profit in the first year of operation. At the present rate, we're looking at a $300,000/month operating loss and suffered a $2.5 million loss the first year, after waiting nearly a year for monthly financial statements.
As one winning candidate for City Council stated, "that should have raised a huge red flag. It would be like your bank not sending you your monthly statements and then telling you not to worry about it, they'll get them to you soon."
It's not the Coliseum; it's the way the whole thing was handled. They knew it would be a losing proposition and hid that from the public. Also, the location was always suspect. Why downtown? Why not somewhere off I-74, I-55? Whether true or not, it was either gross mismanagement, or a "deal" to make some money off downtown real estate exchanges.
The lesson learned should be put all the facts out to the public. Explain in detail the pros and cons. Don't mislead. Ask for help and advice. The voters are not stupid and they have long memories.
LBC,
I love the idea of a coliseum. (I love the Bloomington airport too.) And I am not against such a convention center in CU, even one that is (gasp!) city-owned. But our leaders need to go in with both eyes open, and as mcpundit said, need to also get all the facts out for the public as they go forward.
Look to Bloomington … might be a good Idea.
There are many problems in Bloomington. The City Council does not have documented minutes for years back, the coliseum is a funnel of public funds, the water system needs crucial upgrades, and crime activity (particular homicides) is up. Couple this with a police officer sitting in jail under indictment for multiple rapes, a water department that can’t keep track of credit cards and a ward that just elected a Cook County landlord – there are huge issues.
Public spending on large projects need not help a town survive. A truth in life is that government cannot operate, lease or build anything for a profit……………
Great to hear the complaints from Bloomington. Over here in CU, some of us occasionally look your direction with envy - new ice rink/convention center, free parking at the airport, nice city golf courses, and a housing boom on the east side. It makes me feel better to hear your troubles :-)
CMI (the town not the airport) has many great things.
You have all your home supply stores close. We have to drive miles to get from Lowes to Menards.
You have 3 super WM, we only have 2.
You have the Mahomet aquifer, we will be parched.
You have partisan battles, we eat our own.
You have the best collegiate basketball in the Big Ten (18K fans per game), we have “redbirds” (maybe 4K).
You hosted the Bears, we have “arena football”.
You did not build light rail, we built an arena.
Yeah, let's aspire to be DANVILLE. Are you out of your mind? Danville is a dump, full of post-industrial losers who still think that they're entitled to things that have long disappeared from their hollow shell of a town. Rant...rant...rant. But seriously, if you aspire to be DanVILE, you're aspiring to something LESS than what you already have...