KCPowercat wrote:
I'd like AKP to show us where anybody ever even hinted that all people in this age range want to live downtown? With or without a baseball park.
I'm not sure why AKP thinks it's so offensive that some people are now choosing to live downtown?
It may not be all people but here is one post:
Valentine
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Posts: 444
Re: Downtown Council, Mayor Barnes supporting TSC renovations?
« Reply #36 on: February 27, 2006, 03:29:21 PM »
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Sorry to interupt, but I have a book to publish here.
I think I missed out on what was probably the significant DT baseball debate on the forum. The following is Kard's Downtown Baseball Rant. Deal with it.
I'm confused why so many folks are flat out against it--period. I'm not talking about the "refurb because it's cheaper then building new" argument. I'm talking about the people who say they want it in a bean field away from Downtown REGARDLESS if it's new or not. Chef, this is a little different then your argument, I believe, because the folks I'm talking about would, based on their argument, want a new stadium out in the beanfield once Kauffman really IS ready to be retired in 15 years or whatever.
This next bit has probably been said. But, I think a DT ballpark would be a great idea. Why? The future of any city is based on attracting young talent to it and keeping them there (if you have an issue with this, look to many of the small rural towns in Kansas that have nearly died out). Based on common sense, young talented people like exciting things. As few as five years ago, and even today, people in KC could ask themselves "why would young talent looking for exciting things come HERE? Our Downtown is dead, suburban cities are stealing what urban employers the city has left and putting them in bean fields, and it takes forever to get around this town. In a sense, this place is boring."
How would a DT ballpark NOT help the situation? I've heard enough studies and rebuttal-studies about the "economic" benefits of a DT park that I generally don't trust either side. But, how can one not ignore the fact that a stadium DOES attract more life to whatever part of town in which it is built? Given that, if more people flock to Downtown and are familiar with it, and therefor learn to be less afraid of Downtown (as a lot of suburbanites are in KC), it would increase the general DT population just by visitors alone. It would help to make it a more exciting place, and hopefully attract the talent to power the city for the next generation. The Crossroads pioneers and the condo-boom is helping to lead that effort. I can only imagine what would have happened to the metro area as a whole for the next 20 years if the current condo boom had NOT occurred.
I realize a big hunk of concrete downtown with overpriced beer doesn't make a place exciting enough on its own. But with what KC's already got there from the 20's and 30's, I think it would make an awesome addition that would help even more people from outside KC and the those born after 1970 in KC's metro learn how awesome their city really is and the treasures it contains. And hopefully keep these people here. Otherwise, they're going to go to Chicago, NY, Philly, Portland, Seattle, San Fran... I recently moved back to KC from STL because I wanted to "learn my city" after growing up in the East burbs here, and although I see the progress and potential, I sometimes ask myself and others, why should I stay here? People are against what I want. It irritates me that the progress is slowed, especially when other cities are moving in that direction.
Anyway, feel free to tell me how stupid I am and that DT baseball wouldn't make this a better place, especially 20 years from now when there's no one left in Kansas City to pay the bills because they've all moved to St Louis, Chicago, etc. Seriously--go ahead and keep telling the young workers that this will stay a boring town. They're going to leave and not come back. My brother already has. Friends of mine from college moved here to work for Cerner, and they're starting to go... It IS happening.
AND I DON'T THINK IT IS OFFENSIVE THAT PEOPLE CHOOSE TO LIVE DT, IN FACT IT IS GREAT AND I HAVE SAID THAT BEFORE. WHAT I DO FIND OFFENSIVE IS THE WAY SOME OF THE 'URBAN LIFERS' BELITTLE LIFE IN THE SUBURBS SO MUCH THAT IT SEEMS THEY HAVE SUCH A WARPED VIEW OF THE LIVES OF MANY PEOPLE. YOU DON'T HAVE TO FEEL GOOD ABOUT YOURSELF BY ATTACKING THE LIVES OF OTHERS.
I JUST LIKE TO DIG ALITTLE AT PEOPLE WHEN I CAN COME UP WITH AN OPPSOING STATEMENT OR TWO.
I may be right. I may be wrong. But there is a lot of gray area in-between.
