Town Talk

The Rant - 1/16/2007
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/living/community/16472163.htm

Below are the comments related to downtown and Harrison Square:

I’ve lived here in Fort Wayne with my family for most of my life. I’ve seen a lot of mayors come and go. I have never, in all these years, seen one so anxious to make his mark on the history of Fort Wayne by bringing to the downtown something as ridiculous as a new stadium. For that matter, the new library leaves a lot to be desired. Some of the money spent on that could have been spent adding to the number of branch libraries to serve a great many people. We as taxpayers and voters must now carefully choose the next mayor.

Downtown improvement logic: fix the sidewalks but leave the alleys a pot-holed mess, and leave the iron tree skirts askew so they are a hazard to anyone who walks by.

Don’t develop the Harrison Square proposal; looking at ugly brownfield areas is much more appealing to downtown visitors.

I would have to agree with the reader who suggested a multi-sports arena for downtown. If we are going to pay (and we will) for the stadium, let it be used for more than baseball. Use it for high school and college baseball, football, soccer, marching band and more. It would be an excellent location and an opportunity for city growth if it were a multi-complex.

You have to have secret, closed-door meetings for Fort Wayne Community Schools and the downtown baseball group when you know you can’t justify the cost to the taxpayers.

Harrison Square is a terrible idea. Every time I go to Wizards games, the seats are empty. Do you really think 8,000 people will be attending Wizards games in this new spot?

I’ve talked to many other Wizards season ticket holders. They would be happy to boycott the Wizards and support IPFW baseball at The Castle.

I want a downtown stadium. I will buy five season tickets. They don’t need a new Colts stadium either, but new stuff sells. Bring it on!

Boycotting Wizards games is not the answer. This could cost us the loss of a local sports team, and give people even less to do in town.

Building a downtown stadium is a crazy idea. First, the downtown streets cannot handle the traffic. Second, they should put something downtown that families can attend all year.

Wake up, America! If the baseball stadium planned for downtown Fort Wayne were scratched, we’d have enough money to improve our schools. Isn’t an education worth more than a game?

Feel free to post a comment about any of the items above!