lets see the city take care of the athletic fields at Toby first. this whole boondoggle exists for one reason - pump millions of dollars into the pockets of real estate developers. there are 2 boarded up hotels in "good" parts of town within 1 mile of the fairgrounds. the report admits that it would cannibalize development at overton square and the highland row. if there truly is viable demand for these businesses, then they wouldnt be sitting there in that condition now.

the coliseum has a special place in the history of memphis - but im afraid its time has come. the multipurpose building proposed is a needed amenity. student housing for CBU along Central is a viable project. but the rest of this proposal is hogwash. there is certainly a need to make the fairgrounds property more productive, but this latest scheme (so similar to others dusted off every 5 years or so) is not in the best interests of the citizens of memphis/shelby county or the existing tenants of fairgrounds facilities.

any scheme that could result in the loss of the fairgrounds to creditors (revenue bond holders) via default is a NON STARTER.

^ both of those hotels (union/mclean and cooper/madison) would make great studio apartments...no Idea why someone hasn't converted them yet.

Toby is actually part of the redevelopment.

I'd love to have a studio at the old French Quarter Suites at Overton Square.

(01-29-2015 12:54 PM)UofMemphis Wrote:  ^ both of those hotels (union/mclean and cooper/madison) would make great studio apartments...no Idea why someone hasn't converted them yet.

Toby is actually part of the redevelopment.

I'd love to have a studio at the old French Quarter Suites at Overton Square.

i know toby is part of the project. why havent they done anything with those fields in 20 years if the "youth athletics" market is so important is my question? plenty of city owned property back there to do more than they already have.

this is a total scam.

Jeb, I think if Robert Lipscomb told you the sky is up, and the ground is down, you would still say..."this is a total scam"

I do wonder why they don't redevelop Toby for youth baseball, if they want to compete with Snowden Grove and Gameday. If there is a market for big box retail, then why the fairgrounds? Why not Poplar & Highland where there is availability and infrastructure. I love progress, but this deal stinks, in my opinion.

(01-29-2015 01:09 PM)UofMemphis Wrote:  Jeb, I think if Robert Lipscomb told you the sky is up, and the ground is down, you would still say..."this is a total scam"

a bad idea is a bad idea no matter where it comes from and as my ol' pappy once said, "i dont have to step in dog crap to know it stinks".

(01-29-2015 01:17 PM)Marc Mensa Wrote:  I do wonder why they don't redevelop Toby for youth baseball, if they want to compete with Snowden Grove and Gameday. If there is a market for big box retail, then why the fairgrounds? Why not Poplar & Highland where there is availability and infrastructure. I love progress, but this deal stinks, in my opinion.

I agree.

(01-29-2015 12:54 PM)UofMemphis Wrote:  I'd love to have a studio at the old French Quarter Suites at Overton Square.

You want to lived in an abandoned building? Weird.

(01-29-2015 02:18 PM)Mick Light Wrote:  

(01-29-2015 12:54 PM)UofMemphis Wrote:  I'd love to have a studio at the old French Quarter Suites at Overton Square.

You want to lived in an abandoned building? Weird.

very well, I would love to see the old French Quarter Suites redeveloped into apartments as I would be interested in potentially living there, should the redevelopment occur.

I want to live in an abandoned building.

(01-29-2015 02:18 PM)Mick Light Wrote:  

(01-29-2015 12:54 PM)UofMemphis Wrote:  I'd love to have a studio at the old French Quarter Suites at Overton Square.

You want to lived in an abandoned building? Weird.

hey, it works for all the winos and bums

(01-27-2015 10:28 AM)tigergreen Wrote:  

(01-27-2015 09:27 AM)fsquid Wrote:  

(01-27-2015 08:31 AM)tiger2000 Wrote:  

(01-26-2015 09:16 PM)ncrdbl1 Wrote:  

(01-26-2015 04:21 PM)UofMemphis Wrote:  

So the city went and spent need dollars to extend Young into the fairground and according to the picture it will now be eliminated. Have to ask just who's pockets are being lined in this deal.

Lined pockets and this plan are why the OCS stadium study was tossed aside.

The two are very intertwined and those that would benefit from development dollars at the fairgrounds had a hand in making sure the OCS study had no major consideration

I'm of that opinion too.

Me too. Tom Marshall had been making moves for this for a long, long time.

The way it sounds, though, Nashville isn't going to approve it without a much better plan on the table. Hopefully that is the case. I'm not necessarily against a TDZ, but this plan isn't worth it.

I agree with you.

Also if the "Federal Transportation Dollars" that were misappropriated in construction of the FEF Ford Parking Garage was any indication then all the people working on this need to be watched around the clock for graft & other assorted theft of public monies.

Because you know it's gonna happen.

(01-29-2015 06:17 PM)Cletus Wrote:  

(01-27-2015 10:28 AM)tigergreen Wrote:  

(01-27-2015 09:27 AM)fsquid Wrote:  

(01-27-2015 08:31 AM)tiger2000 Wrote:  

(01-26-2015 09:16 PM)ncrdbl1 Wrote:  So the city went and spent need dollars to extend Young into the fairground and according to the picture it will now be eliminated. Have to ask just who's pockets are being lined in this deal.

Lined pockets and this plan are why the OCS stadium study was tossed aside.

The two are very intertwined and those that would benefit from development dollars at the fairgrounds had a hand in making sure the OCS study had no major consideration

I'm of that opinion too.

Me too. Tom Marshall had been making moves for this for a long, long time.

The way it sounds, though, Nashville isn't going to approve it without a much better plan on the table. Hopefully that is the case. I'm not necessarily against a TDZ, but this plan isn't worth it.

I agree with you.

Also if the "Federal Transportation Dollars" that were misappropriated in construction of the FEF Ford Parking Garage was any indication then all the people working on this need to be watched around the clock for graft & other assorted theft of public monies.

Because you know it's gonna happen.

FedExForum gets built on time, and on budget...and still people b**** and moan...

Duncan, Heidi...is that you?

How about a trolley line that never gets used?

(01-29-2015 07:48 PM)maximus Wrote:  How about a trolley line that never gets used?

If they could keep them from catching on fire....

No seriously, I view the trolleys as a cost of doing business as a city. They add to the ambiance a hell of a lot more than nasty belching buses.

(01-29-2015 07:14 PM)UofMemphis Wrote:  

(01-29-2015 06:17 PM)Cletus Wrote:  

(01-27-2015 10:28 AM)tigergreen Wrote:  

(01-27-2015 09:27 AM)fsquid Wrote:  

(01-27-2015 08:31 AM)tiger2000 Wrote:  Lined pockets and this plan are why the OCS stadium study was tossed aside.

The two are very intertwined and those that would benefit from development dollars at the fairgrounds had a hand in making sure the OCS study had no major consideration

I'm of that opinion too.

Me too. Tom Marshall had been making moves for this for a long, long time.

The way it sounds, though, Nashville isn't going to approve it without a much better plan on the table. Hopefully that is the case. I'm not necessarily against a TDZ, but this plan isn't worth it.

I agree with you.

Also if the "Federal Transportation Dollars" that were misappropriated in construction of the FEF Ford Parking Garage was any indication then all the people working on this need to be watched around the clock for graft & other assorted theft of public monies.

Because you know it's gonna happen.

FedExForum gets built on time, and on budget...and still people b**** and moan...

Duncan, Heidi...is that you?

And neverending lawsuits.

It would cost more money to tear the Coliseum down (33 million) than to renovate and repurpose it ($30 million.) There is a reason the City won't let any outsiders in to actually see the condition of the Coliseum, and the reason is that it is not in the bad shape they want you to believe.

No one from the City govt, except Wanda Halbert, showed up at the public forum. I wonder why? This thing won't fly and Nashville will be the ones to put an end to it. Kind of ironic, huh?

(01-29-2015 11:58 AM)UofMemphis Wrote:  

(01-29-2015 10:40 AM)tigergreen Wrote:  

(01-29-2015 12:35 AM)Briskbas Wrote:  I don't undertand why people want to save the Coliseum. It's a poured concrete eyesore, a bleak and drab example of mid-century modern municipal functionalism. I understand that good times were had. Hell, I had some of them. But for god sakes blow the thing up and be done with it, already. It's not worth saving.

I'm in the middle of watching the video from the meeting last night, and while saving the coliseum is one of the facets of the discussion, it's not the main one. It's more of a discussion of whether or not a multi-use sports plex is the best use of the Fairgrounds area in general.

One viewpoint:

http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/let-...id=3812024

I simply can't consider 'do nothing' as a logical alternative...

Everyone at the public forum wanted to do something with the land, but they want public input and not shady developers shoving this down our throat and putting us on the hook for thirty years. There were many excellent ideas advanced to restore and repurpose the Coliseum. That is a red herring; the building is very capable of being restored. Don't believe anyone who says it's not.

Please take the time to watch the video of the meeting. You will learn a lot. I know I did.

The Coliseum needed to be boom outta here 10-15 years ago.