The Winston-Salem Journal editorializes on the new taxpayer-funded downtown stadium’s construction delays, rightly saying that “(s)omebody ought to give a lot of details, both to lay rumors to rest and because the public has a right to know all the facts on this situation.” That somebody is Billy Prim.
However, the Journal goes on:
The project has been a bright spot in dreary economic times. It represents hope for the future.
There’s the good time to be had at ball games. But most important, there’s the boost that the stadium could give to economic development in the city and Forsyth County through downtown revitalization, jobs and more traffic for restaurants, shops and hotels. The mixed-use development could bring at least $20 million in taxes to the county over a 25-year period.
Greensboro has been reaping the benefits of its downtown ballpark, and it’s time for Winston-Salem to do the same.
That’s a misconception the Journal has been spreding for some time now. Standing alone, G’boro’s New Bridge Bank Park no doubt has been a success, but development around the stadium just hasn’t materialized, evidenced by the still-empty former North State Chevy site just a block away.
Now the City of Greensboro is eagerly jumping in over on Lee Street with the purchase of the Canada Dry property, budget problems be damned. Note they’re doing this in the hope of re-leveraging the city’s biggest economic generator, the money-losing Greensboro Coliseum, overseen by highest-paid city employee Matt Brown. No one’s against development here, but it’s impotant that high expectations, especially those made by government, be accompanied by an adequate dose of reality.
