Gordon Bombay

🎶 “Down at the Crown (down at the Crown), DOWNTOWN AT THE CROWN.” 🎶

I have to respectfully disagree on this market not caring about college basketball. No worries, I was being sarcastic. I don’t think many actually remember the “Cincinnati Stuff.” 😉

It's wild that we're now 25 years into this saga and a good chunk of this development is sill a parking lot/garage and the rest of it has had mixed results with retaining tenants. Hell, by the time the development is nearly built out—the Bengals could be gone or playing elsewhere in the region. I really thought the Tervis store was going to turn things around.

To be fair, no one in this market cares about college basketball nor would they support an NBA team. None of that nonsense is popular with the locals after we got screwed by the International Basketball League folding. Cincinnati Stuff forever (Slammers, never). /s (maybe)

Man, out of all the things to criticize in the local arena discourse, you’re hyper-focused on the one thing seemingly everyone agrees upon as an issue with the current arena. Hell, even a moderately attended Cyclones game makes the concourses (and restrooms) a crowded mess. This longstanding complaint/drawback/criticism of the building certainly isn’t new or coming out of nowhere. It was even brought up as having not been “resolved” in the 1996 renovations.

"Hey guys, come on over to the car condo and watch the big game." We live in hell.

Yeah, unfortunately playing on the West Coast as an AL East team would make things difficult for Tampa, and then that goes against MLB and the Athletics claims that the Coliseum was so woefully inadequate they needed to leave asap (Oakland offered the A's a three year lease to keep the team around a little bit longer before Vegas, but the A's went with the temporary Sacramento solution). Tampa is in a weird situation right now, though. At present, they're crying up a storm because local officials have delayed public funding votes (in order to deal with the hurricane fallout). Now they're claiming those delays may cause them to reconsider Tampa altogether. Even if that does come through, though—I'd wager they play at Steinbrenner for a few seasons until a new TB ballpark is built, rather than try to repair the Trop. Either way it's all bulls**t. These owners and teams can more than afford what they want. Haha, the Riverfront flashbacks were something I loved, but I only knew Riverfront as a nostalgic kid.

Over the summer, I went to the Oakland Coliseum to visit the place before baseball left. I LOVED this place after experiencing it. Shame the A’s are bound for Vegas (assuming all goes well after their three-year temporary stint in Sacramento), this stadium was unique and charming in its own way. Much more reflective of reality than Wrigley or Fenway. If you’d like to see a bunch of photographs + history on MLB relocation/expansion/etc., here’s the latest story I’ve put together: https://ronnysalerno.com/queencitydiscovery/2024/12/two-nights-at-the-oakland-coliseum

The best part is: all the supposed shortcomings of the “convention center” site can be overcome because that land simply doesn’t exist yet and there’s no final design. It is objectively the best location because it’s the only one not requiring a partnership (casino) or requiring drawbacks (“limited concourses” lol). There’s also no need to rush this, since the current arena is not only open, but not missing out on anything besides rare events that wouldn’t be regular occurrences anyways (political conventions, occasional NCAA tournaments). This whole arena thing can be defined as nice to have, but no need to rush. Jeff Berding wants the West End/Town Center Garage because it benefits his interests (no fault in that, but it is reality). The casino has expressed no real interest so you can pretty much ignore that pending any major shift. The Bridge Forward/Convention Center/west downtown site allows the most flexibility in design, etc. Not to mention, the current parking considerations of the convention center are being assessed not only in its current renovation, but for anticipated increased use. You’re also extremely close in that situation to the MASSIVE Banks garage and the still yet to be fully realized BANKS.

CEOs and local politicians saying things that aren’t actually going to come to pass? Yeah, hard to believe. It won’t be a well-executed BRT system, simply because it’s not going to be BRT. I appreciate that there are advocates in the city government and in SORTA leadership—but let’s look at the track record of both and the current realities of transit in this region + what’s been publicly proposed so far. That tells you all you need to know. I hope I’m wrong and I’ll gladly still be a Metro rider/transit advocate regardless, but my faith in the institutions of this city are at an all time low.

What a jackass.

Haha, everyone loves to complain about this, but thanks to Apple TV it's incredibly easy to see not just the local team play, but follow FCC specific content and content from all across the league. It's more affordable, simple, and easier to use than any service any other pro sports league is offering in this country. Yeah, it's a bummer you can't watch it over the air via Star 64 any more, but the team is also no longer in a minor league. The Apple TV move was a solid idea and it puts MLS on an accessible streaming service in an era that's never going back to over-the-air broadcasts or cable packages unless it's some unprecedented or rare event (such as the final). Maybe it's not popular with the older crowd, but the deal has worked out for MLS just fine. I'm not personally a fan of the proposed schedule/seasonal switch although I do see the "point." In the US, said scheduling has had mixed results in lower soccer leagues, but I think the biggest problem you run up against for MLS is that it forces you into direct competition with College Football, the NBA, and the NFL (and in some markets, the NHL (although lol at the league)). It may not be a significant hurdle, but it's more entertainment $ competition compared to baseball. If we want to talk about truly idiotic cash grab ideas from MLS, though: the real culprit is the garbage tournament known as the "Leagues Cup."

I mean, there's just no way. On top of that—this city and its local transit authorities have never enforced the one, singular bus-only lane we do have, still don't have streetcar signal timing working, never got the Uptown "queue jumper" working for buses, and still can't track their streetcars properly in real-time. And they couldn't even accomplish any of these things even when the political climate wasn't hostile. We're going to to put some covered (but not too covered) stations along a Metro "plus" route, and call it "rapid" transit. Todd Portune would be proud.

Thanks, @ucgrady and @KJP — super informative and helpful.

For my own sanity, I requested to have my account blocked from being able to see all the political topics here on UrbanOhio. It’s been great for mental health, but at the risk of dipping my toes back in—does anyone have a sense of if this project could still go forward under a second MAGA regime? I know it’s still early, but it seemed like even DeWine and some of the gerrymandered statehouse was in support of 3C+D.

Don’t go through red lights and turn into the far lane. Especially when the train has the right-of-way. 11/26 around 11:50 AM. Thankfully, everyone seemed ok. I was biking behind the streetcar when this happened.

Sounds about right for this city. Meanwhile all these dorks wander around still talking about the Shillito's elves and how they wish a downtown department store would come back so they could go X-mas shopping once a year.

Haha, I’m grateful there’s a downtown grocery, but man sometimes I just quickly need batteries or some beer and I don’t want the headache of Kroger karaoke night.

Two random observations similar to this one from Pendleton over the past weekend (sorry for the bad photos, it's hard to walk the dog and get decent compositions). Of the two former "Sports Page" restaurant locations downtown, I always liked the one on Main Street more than Vine. It was my go-to lunch spot and the staff were just the best + decent prices for decent food. Both locations closed several years ago, but the former Main St. spot location had its dining room split into two things: a cuban sandwich place and what looked like the early construction of a convenience store (counter and beer coolers installed). The sandwich spot didn't last long and the convenience store never seemed to progress. Then this past weekend a sign popped up saying the "Main Mini Market" is "Opening Soon." Hoping it's a convenient spot to grab quick items or a six pack because all of the other "bodegas" down here close at like 5:00 p.m. and sometimes dealing with Kroger is a nightmare. Similar to this thought from Pendleton, I'm really intrigued by the idea of more "normal" businesses popping up. The "Cha Bar" place advertising "street food" has looked like that for several months. No idea if it'll actually ever really open.

Was stumbling around Pendleton this past weekend and saw this (pardon the bad photo). It appears to be a normal laundromat. Not a "new concept" cocktail bar that pairs the blue collar bonafides of doing your own laundry in public with the elevated experience of a mixologist's menu, but just a... normal... laundromat. Which, hyperbole and sarcasm aside, I was super excited to see. I mean—I love several of the bars, restaurants, etc. of the urban core—but it'd be great to see some more "normal," "everyday" type businesses opening up alongside things like the CVS, Walgreens, and bodegas sporting later hours. However, I did notice that one sign inside the laundromat (the "no loitering" one) looked just like another on a nearby building. So, maybe this is just for nearby residents of one rental company? The laundromat itself is not on Google Maps (unlike the amazing ones built into a former Bob Evan's and Wendy's in Newport and Price Hill respectively). I live in a building downtown where all residents share one, ancient coin operated machine. When it goes down, I can either go to my significant other's or @taestell's (I'd go to @ryanlammi's, but Taestell makes way better tiki drinks), but I do like the idea of this business being there in a pinch (relatively) near the streetcar line. I don't know. Just an observation similar to this one about how it'd be nice to some "real" stuff be open later. Does that make sense?

Oh, I have no idea, just pointing out that if they're sitting on a valuable piece of land that someone wants (arena, developer, etc.), they're in the driver's seat in terms of making demands suggesting what might be adequate compensation for giving up the Crosley Telecommunications Center.

91.7 WVXU isn't saying that, the parent organization of Cincinnati Public Radio is. Specifically: CPR has had active, public plans to construct their own headquarters/building since at least late 2018/early 2019. After the initial plan for a downtown location didn't work out, the organization made the decision to construct a facility in Evanston off of I-71. CPR currently rents from their downstairs landlord, WCET--who floated their own plans for renovating/re-imagining the current building on Central Parkway. That proposal, as far as I'm aware, stalled. CPR declined participation in that plan from the outset, however, because they intended to build their own headquarters funded via a capital campaign. As of right now, WCET is staying put, but much like the ballet (who got a sweetheart deal to move for TQL stadium), they could easily leverage their geographic position. Cincinnati Public Radio, however, has made it clear what their plans are. So, yes, the "reimagination" of the block (arena or not, development is coming to that area alongside notable improvements to the parkway) does not include Cincinnati Public Radio (91.7 WVXU and 90.9 WGUC), but that was their choice to pursue different options. Construction will be complete on their Evanston location in Spring 2025 and CPR is currently soliciting donations for funding.

No, you didn’t say much of anything actually.

Easily my favorite higher end* restaurant in the city right now. Not sure if they’ll be doing lunch at this same spot, but the lunch deal they had this summer was always a good deal/treat during the workweek. I love their current space, but it is small and they had to remove the outdoor patio for one of those “temporary” setups a few years back. Maybe this means the former Cheapside building can get that back. * higher end as in it’s not Sotto or Losanto level, but it requires a reservation most times Also, I believe it was previously announced that Cantina was moving to Fountain Square/Foundry so not sure what’ll happen to the Crown spot that was being planned there.

lol what? The convention center is currently undergoing a massive renovation so why would they immediately build a new one in an area with no hotel rooms outside of the central core?