The Great Debate

Does Rocky Mount need a multi purpose arena that seats at least Five thousand people? Do we need it in downtown?  Those of you that want any kind of arena to make money guess what none do at
least not many.  Regardless of the cost Rocky Mount needs more than a 1200 seat Dunn Center. A question that interest me as who came up the figure  five  thousand. Listen for a city who charges you  extra on your light bill for power we don't even get why not build a ten thousand seat building.

First of all yes we do need a entertainment complex where our citizens can go and have plenty of parking well lit for security and easy to get to.  Well that eliminates any location down town.  Just for entertainment purposes the 19,000 seat PNC arena has 8,000 parking spaces.  If you have ever been in the PNC that equates to about one parking space for 2.5 people in one car. A 5,000 seat building would need 2,000 parking spaces.  If you have been any where in down Rocky Mount the space just needed for the parking lot  you would have to tear half the buildings down to find the space.

I can see it now  the answer for down town is build a parking deck.  Have you ever been stuck in that parking deck at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill after a football game.  You get home early Sunday morning after a Saturday afternoon game. What kind of four lane streets is this building going to be near to help get the traffic in and out.  Just think how long it takes to get 400 cars out of any high school parking lot and this new building could have five times more cars.

The largest building east of I-95 in our area is Minges in Greenville about 8,000 seats.  If we are going to spend money why not build something that would be the biggest in the area. If say 10,000 seat  you could have some big name concerts.   Broadway type productions just might come. What I visualize is a stage in one end similar to the small arena in Fayetteville called the Crown Arena.

I know that our city official who love to spend our money are dead set on a building in downtown to revitalize it.  But if you can't get to.  Then when you do go can't park within a mile of the place which then puts your personal safety in jeopardy nobody is going to go.  Then downtown remains dead and we have another 32 million added to our light bill.

So please city officials who have their hands in our pockets willing to spend our money.  If you build it they will not come unless it has access off highway 64.  Sports complex area fits that bill.  Just thinking top of my head say the property across from Nash Community College.  I know there has to be someone on the city council that has property somewhere off 64 that we could buy from them to build this building.  Seems they always find a way to help each other make money for themselves and we pay for it.