factman wrote:YES, there is a practice facility in the plans for the Stroh Center! The was a $1,000,000 gift from the Miles family, I believe, specifically for this purpose.
redskins4ever wrote:I dont think the 200-250 events is a realistic number... optimistic... but really how can this facility be filled that often? Are there practice courts in the new building? Where will the teams practice? Anderson?
BG lacks hotels... and so the thought of conventions or trade shows may never materialize.
and there is a bigger... nicer... soon to be open Downtown Toledo Ice Arena which could do the same thing.
I'd vote for the Stroh center to built... but lets not mislead the voters with some of these statements.
Yes, the Lucas County Arena (as I believe it is going to be called) will be bigger and possibly nicer, but there's always something to be said for the fact that there will be times when that arena is already booked, or just a tad too expensive/large/whatever for a given convention or trade show, and that's where Stroh can step in, the same as the Hara Arena in Dayton hosts a lot of events that are too small/can't afford/couldn't get the date they wanted/etc. at the newer (although it's not new by any stretch anymore, it is still newer than Hara) and bigger Nutter Center.
Plus you have to factor into things, the reality that the new place up north is still stuck in the middle of downtown Toledo. First, it is in Toledo, and who willingly wants to go there. Two, being bigger, the events going there are generally going to be different than what BGSU needs to attract. Three, it is in downtown Toledo, which no matter what the free world has done, remains less than fun to navigate, park, and exit.
Mind you, I think it was a rare instance of Toledo doing something right, in expanding Seagate/building new, and specifically locating it near the Mud Hens. I hate Toledo, but it remains that Lucas County does manage the Hens well, and did build a truly top-flight AAA baseball facility. And that town likes its low-end pro hockey, nothing bad about that.
I don't think it is impossible for BGSU to attract events. What I question is if BGSU has the people with the skill to do so.
I think there may be a growing realization of exactly how marketable a campus BGSU really has coming online.
Doyt L. Perry Stadium, The Stroh Center, The Field House, the Wolf Center, the Union, the Ice Arena*, Forrest Creason, and such. If they could seriously market that better than they do, there is money and attention to be had.
Now the City/County/University must get moving on more hotel space.
NWLB
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NWLB wrote: it is in downtown Toledo, which no matter what the free world has done, remains less than fun to navigate, park, and exit.
.
Won't argue some of your statements but, man, if you can't find your way around in Toledo, you're in trouble. And parking couldn't be much more convenient or cheap. One thing that attracted me to Toledo- no traffic and easy to get around if you know Monroe and Central. And yes, I know that may seem like two things, but they are entwined in my mind so I am sticking with "one thing".
Cheap compared to big cities, I'll give you that. And no, it isn't actually hard to navigate if you know the town. But to that point, is it easier to find BGSU/Doyt Perry Stadium from I-75 or to find Seagate from I-75/280?
In any case, I don't see a lot of over-lap in market for the two places.
NWLB
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