Event Center

Can anyone backup my Event Center conspiracy theory?

l3wis August 26, 2009 4Comments

The newest Event Center Task Force member, Boris

I really think the reason the Event Center task force is pushing for the bigger 18,000 seat facility isn’t because they think we need it, but because it is an excuse to raise our retail taxes by a penny.

Case in point,  I think it was task force member Terry Baloun (?) who said, (paraphrasing) “If we were to use the the Bed and Booze tax we are looking at a much smaller facility.”

and as I mentioned earlier last week, councilor Quen Be De Knudson said at a joint county/council meeting, (paraphrasing) “I can’t wait to raise taxes to 7 cents so we can build all kinds of nice things for this city.”

These two statements have really gotten me thinking. They know they can build a smaller facility DT with a bed and booze tax, but it would require a retail tax increase (which would raise an estimated $100 million a year) to build a monstrosity at the convention center location and rebuild Howard Wood. 

Don’t be fooled by the ‘NEED’ for an 18,000 seat facility, this is about increasing our taxes by a penny. That tax will never, ever go away, the De Knudsons of the world will just find other things to spend that $100 million on each year.

It really surprises me that a person who claims to be an advocate for immigrants and the less fortunate supports taxing food to build an entertainment facility. What are you spiking the honey with these days De?

Scotty Hudson nails it on the Event Center

l3wis August 26, 2009 9Comments

Hudson’s KRRO rant today is right on, especially the non-logic in building a 20,000 seat facility;

The future of music lies in the smaller venues, gathering the niches of every genre. This is why instead of building an unused monstrosity, we need to make better use of the venues we already have. Pressure those at the Pavillion to book outside of the MOR mode that plagues that building. Acknowledge and cultivate the role of establishments such as Nutty’s for rock, rap, and indie rock. Let’s turn an empty warehouse or two into facilities for live music. The future is not monster U2 or G&R stadium spectacles; the future is a sweaty room with 1000 like-minded friends, and I’ll believe that until somebody on the task force can convince me otherwise.

Listen to Scott’s rant today at 8 AM on the KRRO, 103.7 FM.