Here’s what jumped out at me when reading yesterday’s N&R follow up to the proposed downtown Greensboro ice skating rink:
Interest in the festival also has been expressed by local ice skaters.
Downtown Greensboro Inc. started a survey Thursday to determine whether area residents would use the rink. By the end of the day Saturday, DGI had received 99 responses. Nearly 89 percent said yes.
“(That) demonstrates overwhelming interest,” said Ed Wolverton, DGI’s president and CEO. “It gives me a greater sense of confidence that people would use the facility. It give me a greater sense of confidence that we can exceed the budget.”
Organizers say they would be operating on a budget of $165,000 to $175,000. After raising the initial $65,000, the rest of the money would come from admission fees and skate rentals.
I wouldn’t necessarily say those number indicate overwhelming interest in a city of more than 250,000. I don’t know why, but I somehow see the city getting involved in this deal at some point.
I’ll also note that today’s N&R short stack editorial endorses the skating rink, not to mention providing public relations for the taxpayer-funded aquatic center and the taxpayer-funded $20 million Natural Science Center upgrade.
Meanwhile, ed page editor Allen Johnson (unposted) rushes to the defense of the downtown luxury hotel, pointing to other downtown projects that have received taxpayer-assistance, concluding that “the idea of staring a major downtown investment in the face and saying no to what amounts more to philosophical reasons than real dollars and cents seems not only silly, but foolish.”
