Not the entire chain of supermarkets, but the one at University Plaza by ETSU.

What? Am I some sort of corporate sellout that praises the rise of the large chains ahead of the small businessman? Are my Pittsburgh roots so dominant that I applaud union labor Kroger for putting a non-union store out of business?

No and no.

While I don't like White's because in my youth they told me they would not hire me because of my long hair and that was total and complete sexism and I've never shopped at a White's since, plus their radio ads are just plain lame and embarassing, I see a shopping center going Eastland Mall and another buisness on that block- the old Citgo mini mart on the corner of State of Franklin and Jack Vest Drive- torn down.

And I'm thinking, with two vacancies at University Plaza, including the lack of an anchor store, could ETSU try eventually to acquire that block and redevelop it?

Be a great place for a football stadium....

Perhaps a "Black's" will take its place

That's funny!

I can't believe that White's has lasted as long as it has over the years. They were always too expensive. Hopefully the other tenants in that building will move out, and ETSU can acquire all that land. It would also make a great place for an arena, which given ETSU's ability to raise money and get things done the right way, would be scheduled for completion around 2030, but not actually be done til about 2045.

Honestly, I would rather shop at White's than another market because of the local ownership. The store that closed was the closest one to my house. I actually remember when it was built in 1986 or '87. Before that Greenwood Drive ended on Jack Vest Drive and you had to take that road to get to State of Franklin- the intersection with the stoplite hadn't been built yet.

But I'm sorry. You know they wouldn't have a problem with a cashier with long hair if she was a chick.

It wasn't just sexism. In my mind, such a rule is like an affront against Cinderella or something.

You'll notice there is a Domino's Pizza thriving in University Plaza. And you'll notice that "Don't Know What You Got" is now a staple of the latest Domino's ad.

Let this serve as a lesson. DON'T EVER DIS HAIR BANDS! NOT EVEN AS A JOKE!

Motley Crue can kill people, rob homeless people, and take enough drugs to kill an erotic mule- and they still get the finest women and are legends.

Meanwhile, look at Kurt Cobain and now, evidently, White's.

I don't shop at White's myself but my wife,mother an aunt always complain that when they do stop there they never have anything, the shelves always look bare and you can't find anything.

R

Maybe someone can come up with the facts but did not the State fully fund the building of the Minidome? I do not remember having to raise any funds to build it and it was just a matter of getting the legislature to vote for it. I guess those days are long over? If ETSU is dependent on getting all of the funding for a new arena from private sources then we probably will never get a new one.

I don't know.

I will say this. I have always felt it curious that Freedom Hall and Memorial Center were built so close together (1974 and 1977, respectively).

Speculation- and this is JUST speculation- is that in the '70s stadiums were built for more than one tenant. Think the old cookie cutter stadiums most cities had that housed both the football and baseball teams.

I know that in a conversation with John Robert Bell years ago he stated that they wanted to get all the programs in one building. Remember, they had rifle in the yard.

The new football book states Bell wanted the new stadium and he wanted an indoor facility. It also states as the structure was being built they cut costs and that's why the facility had such poor sightlines.

Otherwise, I really can't imagine why it would have been built in the first place. Freedom Hall had JUST gone up and you figure the Bucs could have called that their home. Remember, in 1975 the Bucs HOSTED North Carolina at Freedom Hall.

It just seems like a lot of waste to build two arenas so close together. Unless the old football stadium was just a total dump- which it might have been- I don't understand the logic.

In hindsight I think the school would have been better off improving the grandstands of the old football stadium. It was really a nice little stadium based upon a bowl structure and just had not been improved much since the 30's. I was excited about the Dome when it was new but as you say, the budget was cut and it was not made as originally planned and thus made the sidelines impossible to see. It was really in a great spot on campus though. But I do not see the state building us anything now or in the future.

The other thing about Memorial Center is that there were so many places for classrooms and such.

The cost-cutting construction of the "Vault of Victory" is just soooooo ETSU. You get the idea if it had been built right, and if hoops called Freedom Hall their home and they didn't worry about playing basketball there, things might have been a lot different.

Definitely.

Then again, maybe University Plaza won't be razed for more ETSU development-

http://johnsoncitypress.com/Detail.php?C...E&ID=61192

The writer should learn White's hasn't been there for a couple of weeks, but regardless . . .

I like Earth Fare but still would have liked the University get the land for development.