zipsrifle

I haven't lived in the city for a while, but a decade ago, you had to be aware of what was going on around you. We had drugs, break-in etc. but nothing too bad on a regular basis. In the mid 90's I went downtown and that was probably my worst experience in the city. Since then, things have been getting better as far as I can tell.

I spend quite a bit of time in the UP. Great people, tough as nails. I'll try to grab some pictures this year during my travels. Anyway, a few years ago part of the pictured rocks (Miner's Castle) collapsed and apparently there were some fisherman in the water nearby. I remember reading about it, apparently Miner's Castle was a navigational landmark. Found this and learned some more about the Pictured Rocks. http://www.lakesuperiorphoto.com/miners_castle_collapse.html

As I was walking out of work today I was reflecting on how rare it is for Midwestern cities to retain their large employers. Seems that everyone is moving South, or to the major Northern cities. Just recently I learned that Navistar-International was closing their Engineering facility in Ft. Wayne, Indiana and moving 1200+ well paying jobs to Chicago. The last few times I was in Akron (to watch the Zips lose!), I drove by the Bridgestone NAHQ currently under construction, was detoured around construction near the Goodyear HQ and drove by the construction site of yet another private Student apartment complex. I'll have to get some pictures next time I'm in town.

AK looking good! Got to make it to downtown before the weather goes away to stroll around a bit. I really want to see the park and canal under the Civic theater. There was an article in the ABJ a few weeks back about how the students living in downtown has really livened up the place and that people are actually having to pay attention at cross walks because of the number of people using them. Akron has a lot going for it. Don't forget about the new BSFS tech center down Main Street or the new Goodyear World HQ. A lot has changed since I first arrived in the early 90's!

mmmmm Halo burger. Flint is OK but I still think it has a way to go. From what I've seen Genesee county has been hit pretty hard by this recession, at least in the Fenton area. Personally, I would like to see some focus around the Kettering University area, that place has some huge expansion potential.

I think attendance will be higher than if we were in the Rubber Bowl, but I don't think it will be huge. I hope we will have a good season, but with a new coach and new schemes on both sides of the ball, we'll likely get off to a slow start. Even if we turn it around at the end of the year, the final two games are on weeknights so that will hurt attendance. Regardless of how we play, it is a top notch college stadium anyway you look at it.

Common sense is my source. If you look at the current campus map, there isn't much land to develop. The buildings I would tear down to replace are in the heart of campus (Zook, Leigh, Ayer, Crouse) and with the push for more green space, I doubt they would be replaced in the same footprint. So, that indicates to me additional land is needed. I'm sure UofA has talked with every land owner near campus and stated that if they want to sell, UA is willing to purchase. I for one think that a new arena is a luxury and not a necessity right now. ICS was a necessity. As Dr. P put it, UA was at a point where if they were going to participate in FB, they were going to need to put at least $50 Million in a stadium. It could be a new on-campus stadium or the Rubber Bowl. For the Soccer team, you had a National Power playing in a stadium that some High School players in the area would laugh at. I wonder which direction UA will expand? Rt-8 seems to be a barrier, I don't see them expanding past Rt 8. Expanding into Downtown is an option, but DT has lots of people opposing this. A downtown arena would compliment the Baseball stadium nicely and the recent development (22 exchange) has been a private endeavor. Personally I think expanding into downtown more would really bring it to life. The easy way to expand at this point, however, appears to be expansion towards market and across Exchange.

Walked by the new soccer stadium today and it looks AWESOME! It isn't complete yet, but it has got to be one of the nicest facilities for college soccer in the country!

I think UA is going to buy anything near campus they can get their hands on considering how landlocked they are and the eminent domain battle for the new stadium. There is so much speculation for the arena out there that I wouldn't worry about each land purchase. I've had pretty good luck when looking for details on the new football stadium when going to www3.uakron.edu As UA is publicly funded, they have to post some information and if you keep your eyes open, you can get a jump on things.

Sweet, I'll be sure to swing by there next summer!

The RR tracks in Downtown Akron and Cleveland were once an important part of the city but now, it seems they act to divide the city. It seems the only way to effectively couple Downtown and the University if for UofA to move into downtown more, which isn't always welcomed with open arms. Seems that this is the way things are going though.

There was an article in the ABJ today about how EJ Thomas was running a deficit. Seems like there are a lot of concert venues in the area, so are you thinking this would be used for Small concerts? One thing that was done where we used to live is that they would have concerts every Tuesday during the summer with small bands. On selected Fridays they would have a Movie. It was a nice community gathering.

We live close to Oberlin and have been to the Slow Train several times. Man was it packed when Germany played Spain in the world cup. Anyway, this development was very nicely done. I especially like the greenspace in the back, well done.

They need to do something to utilize this area more. I spent 5 years in Akron and spend at least a week every year in the city for the past 10 and I didn't even know this area was there until a few years ago. It's almost like it's hidden back there. I'm sure part of the issue was there were always busses blocking the area off but that is fixed now. I think the improvments to the canal just across Bowrey might help bring more traffic into this area.

I'm going to have to get to the Syracuse game REALLY early so I can walk around the city and see all the new construction! I was on Campus last week and I noticed that just South of Summa, between Market and Buchtel somebody has purchased a bunch of houses on Spruce Street and Franklin street. Anybody know what is going on there? both blocks are almost vacant. I didn't even think about looking at the new Bridgestone construction. I did drive through the Goodyear HQ on Market and I don't see a whole lot going on down there though the exit from 76 to Martha is closed. I haven't walked around the city in about a year but it seems like so much has changed. Lock 3, new polymer building, 22 exchange, Bridgestone, new soccer stadium. There is just construction all over the place!