A new convention center is not worth the risk
If building a new convention center in Cleveland to lure a medical mart is such a wonderful way to make money for our community, why isn’t some wealthy business person or company (who got to be wealthy business people or companies based on their business acumen) telling the city, “I’ll build the convention center and the medical mart and let you use it (at a cost of course).”
Since this is such a brilliant idea, don’t you think that some venture capitalist would seize upon the opportunity and run with it?
The simple answer is it’s not worth the risk.
Venture capitalists are in the risk/reward business. The bigger the risk, the bigger the reward. But successful venture
If this deal was really a good one, don’t you think that Sam Miller and the family Ratner over at Forest City would already be digging a hole in the ground behind Tower City and booking dates for events well into the future as the masses of medical conventioneers stepped over one another to get to Cleveland? If this is such a great idea, why isn’t Forest City laying out the dough to make this thing happen?
Again the simple answer is it’s not worth the risk.
If building a convention center is such a draw for travel and visitor business, why are cities like Pittsburgh struggling to find events for their brand new environmentally-friendly state of the art facility that cost them so much public money to build? Based on the vacancy status of the center and the failing quality of its construction, it’s on odds on bet that Pittsburgh will never recoup its investment in the center. Even at this moment they are competing with Cleveland for this proposed Medical Mart to help bolster their over-subsidized and ailing convention business.
With all of the down-side associated with this project, no business person in their right mind would put their own money into this thing. So why in the world are our elected officials and the local Intelligensia for whom they work so willing to do this project?
The simple answer is that it’s not their money they’re playing with, it’s ours.
And that’s why it’s worth the risk.
The craziest thing about all of this is how Boss Dimora brazenly spends OUR money on campaigns and advertising to manipulate us into giving him and the boys MORE OF OUR money. Wake up Cuyahoga County!
July 17th, 2007 at 1:11 pm
wendell,
talk draper into running again.
July 17th, 2007 at 4:52 pm
Ballot initiative: reduce sales tax to 6.5% and when Dimora threatens to shut down Metrohealth impeach him.
July 18th, 2007 at 9:21 am
Not topic related…. but am sure Wendell will love this one!
Q: Democrat presidential candidate comes to poorest city in America, who is not present?
A: Cleveland’s “Missing Mayor,” Mr. Frank “Inaction” Jackson.
Wendell do you think it was because he was ashamed of how the other area democraps failed our region or was he covering up for another sexual harrassment charge against his brother?
Joe, is Jimmy that bad or are the dems allowed to run rampant because or party is non existent in Cuyahoga County?
If our party was relevant in Cuyahoga County maybe the dems would not run free. So who’s fault is it? I say ours!
July 18th, 2007 at 1:33 pm
King,
Perhaps if folks around here thought more about economic progress and real initiative, rather than petty party politics, things would be better? I say it’s both your faults and a pox on both your houses! Cheers.
July 18th, 2007 at 3:17 pm
In Columbus, 10 or so years ago, the money guys knew that an arena would be a money maker and said so (build and we get an NHL franchise plus big events, local development, etc.). Some smart pols gave the voters first shot at reaping the benefit of an arena at the tiny cost of a one-time, 1/2-cent sales tax increase for 3 years. The voters were cheap and short-sighted (dumb) and voted it down. The smart money guys laughed and ran in to build it. Now they are making money hand over fist whereas the voters lost millions in annual revenue.
The money knows. If the smart money says it isn’t worth it (won’t touch it), then it’s not.
July 18th, 2007 at 6:40 pm
Give the man a prize!
JFO, you sir, are a winner!
You are right, while the democrats ran the region in the ground, our party floundered around on the sideline.
Our local party has not offered up ANYTHING to stop the downward spiral the democrats have Cuyahoga County in. I have asked many of the party fathful to name one thing the RPCC has done successful or effective in over the last 10-15 years in Cuy. Co.. Guess what - no answer!
Cuyahoga County residents, being republican or democrap, can no longer afford corrupt democrat leadership or non existent GOP leadership. This is one of the reasons I am speaking out against their proposed “Platform of Defeat” & the defeatist attitude that has infected the CCRP.
We share the blame for the demise of this region. Why? Because our party HAS been non existent. We have allowed the democrats that are corrupt to run rampant.
For quite sometime, I have said November is an early Christmas for Jimmy Dimora and the Dems in Cuyahoga CO. Elections results show this to be true.
We must change the “take what they give us” thought process or we will continue to pick up the crumbs from the local dems.
July 19th, 2007 at 7:07 am
We need the Cuyahoga County Republican to be Republican = Lower Taxes, Smaller Government, Personal Responsibility, and Pro-Business. Then we need to convince the conservative Dems here that are really Republicans. If we offer no alternative they might as well stay Dems and throw the occassional crumb at an R candidate they like.
July 19th, 2007 at 9:27 am