She did not give Richmond, or it’s cultural institutions very high marks. She noted that the over-sized convention center was putting the cart before the horse. Similar projects in other city have failed miserably.

She stated that the surrounding area from the convention center looked like a war zone and that folks researching cities for their conventions are really turned off by this. Conventioners do not want to walk out into a scary looking area that has nothing to offer. No restaurants, no clubs, no hotels (except the Marriot) no shopping within walking distance – there is nothing in Richmond near the center. And, predictably the center is not bringing in the revenues and people that it thought it would.

She went on the evaluate the other local attractions and cultural venues saying that most of them our very outdated in their marketing approach. Must, dusty, boring…

She also talked about how disconnected Richmond’s attractions are from one another. It’s very difficult for a visitor to navigate the various sites and the distances between them. There is no real collaborative “plan” to attract tourism.

It was kind of amusing to see all these curators/directors sweating in their tweeds.

Developing a stadium village is definitely better than a stand alone stadium. Probably something that the convention center project should have done.

One of the big things that the consultant talked about is a self-contained experience, similar to a cruise ship. Everything under one roof, so to speak. Ease of use and convenience. That’s what the modern tourist seeks these days.

If we wait for schools to be changed in this town…. well lets just say it could be awhile.

And why is that? There are choices being made here. CHANGE the schools already!

These arguments are why Richmond struggles against the surrounding counties. No Change seems to be the fight song of Richmond. When you chase your team out of town, you have to build a stadium to secure a team, there are plenty of teams looking to move to a new location. If they can build that center out in Short Pump why can’t we make it work in Shockoe?

Everyone is raving about the Historic District… THE WHOLE CITY is one big Historic district!!!!

I’m game. Play Ball!

Digging a hole for a stadium in a flood zone is just plain stupid.

Mainly, we need to solve the drainage problem before moving forward. But all in all, I not against the idea.

And what will happen to the farmers market during the months (possibly years) that the construction is going on only a few yards away? There are people trying to earn a living there.

Not only should schools come before stadiums, but building a stadium before you’ve secured a team is just plain backwards.

Same goes for over-sized convention centers…

The powers that be seem hell bent on having this stadium downtown. Despite the ruckus made by the locals, it’s probably going to happen.

I agree with #3. I don’t understand why officials get this wrong all the time. If you want to revitalize an area and stimulate the local economy, you have to fix the basic infrastructure first. That means fix schools, clean-up neighborhoods, fix roads and support small businesses, just to name a few. That’s what brings the people back to the city. Once you have that done, THEN work on the stadium, arts center, convention center…

This is just another distraction from the schools. Richmond’s school buildings are the oldest in the state. Many of them are illegal, in violation of federal ADA law.