Excuse me?

Excuse me?

That means it is good for the L to be close, but no station at The United is not optimal.

To think we would not have to be having this conversation if we only built the Hippodome in Butler County like they proposed in the 1990s.

 

As a blast from the past, does anyone have any articles on that?

^Honestly, IMO the best shot at an NBA/NHL team would be to put it in Butler County and market it to both Cincinnati and Dayton.  (Or Warren County, wherever.)  The Reds (and to a lesser extent the Bengals) get a great deal of support from metro Dayton historically, but if you were to bring an NBA/NHL team and call it the "Cincinnati whatever" it would be very tough for a metro of 2.2 million to support it and an NFL and NBA team.  Put it in the metroplex and it might have a shot. 

 

Not that this would ever happen, but that's about the only way I could see it.  (You could also see how it would be popular for concerts too.) 

 

That doesn't deal with UC's issues, though. 

As much as I'd love a new arena the best solution is for UC and US Bank arena to partner to renovate the current arena. As far as concerts go, we have good options already. Most summer tours go to Riverbend and now Bunbury. Most smaller acts have options in town and outside of some of the bigger arena acts, Cincinnati doesn't miss out of much. The only real acts we miss out on are big stadium tours, which should go to PBS.

 

I'd love for Cincinnati to get NCAA tournaments but with other venues so close it's an uphill battle. However, a renovated US Bank Arena might be able to swipe the First Four from Dayton. UD Arena is a dump.

As much as I'd love a new arena the best solution is for UC and US Bank arena to partner to renovate the current arena. As far as concerts go, we have good options already. Most summer tours go to Riverbend and now Bunbury. Most smaller acts have options in town and outside of some of the bigger arena acts, Cincinnati doesn't miss out of much. The only real acts we miss out on are big stadium tours, which should go to PBS.

 

I'd love for Cincinnati to get NCAA tournaments but with other venues so close it's an uphill battle. However, a renovated US Bank Arena might be able to swipe the First Four from Dayton. UD Arena is a dump.

 

^ Ah, probably a xavier fan.  :roll:

 

UD Arena is the best college basketball facility in Ohio, and it's not even close. Apparently, the NCAA, ESPN and CBS agree. I would hate to see it go but there have been rumblings that a new facility closer to campus is an eventuality. As it is, it's a star in the college basketball world and the only place that I've ever heard get louder is Rupp Arena. And Dayton continues to get the First Four because the city embraces it and puts on a great show; it's more than just the arena. The games are sold out, despite most of the teams being from far-flung locations. Cincinnati can't sell out NFL playoff games, Reds games without thousands of visiting fans, UC football/basketball games, etc. The thought of Cincinnati selling out games featuring Boise State, Cal, Iona and Western Kentucky is laughable.

 

Fifth Third Arena is a poorly designed shoebox ill-equipped for basketball and is incredibly annoying for casual fans to access. The Cintas Center is nothing more than the Nutter Center with blue seats - ugly as sin, dull and with a hideous cinderblock wall behind one of the baskets. Do they want to host basketball games or banquets? The Schott at OSU is a multipurpose monstrocity with no personality designed to accommodate hockey, which renders it as sterile and lifeless as most NBA arenas. Miami's Millett Hall is a cruel joke. BG, Cleveland State and Ohio have nice facilities.

Now don't be dissin' my Schott now!

 

But I'll agree that UD Arena, for all its retro-glory, is probably Southwest Ohio's best arena for sports.  Certainly better than US Bank, Nutter, Cintas, Millett, that shoebox at UC, and DEFINITELY Hara and Cinti Gardens!

 

Even though I've never been, doesn't NKU have a nice arena?

^Honestly, IMO the best shot at an NBA/NHL team would be to put it in Butler County and market it to both Cincinnati and Dayton.  (Or Warren County, wherever.)  The Reds (and to a lesser extent the Bengals) get a great deal of support from metro Dayton historically, but if you were to bring an NBA/NHL team and call it the "Cincinnati whatever" it would be very tough for a metro of 2.2 million to support it and an NFL and NBA team.  Put it in the metroplex and it might have a shot. 

 

Not that this would ever happen, but that's about the only way I could see it.  (You could also see how it would be popular for concerts too.) 

 

That doesn't deal with UC's issues, though.

 

Cleveland tried that about 40 years ago between Cleveland and Akron. I think its now been about 20 years since the Richfield Colosseum was demoed. You could build an arena closer to or in Cincy and still market it to Dayton. Same thing happens in Cleveland though Cle-Akr is one media market.

Even though I've never been, doesn't NKU have a nice arena?

 

It does. They built it maybe 5 years ago. I believe it was a prerequisite to their move into Division I.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bank_of_Kentucky_Center

 

As much as I'd love a new arena the best solution is for UC and US Bank arena to partner to renovate the current arena. As far as concerts go, we have good options already. Most summer tours go to Riverbend and now Bunbury. Most smaller acts have options in town and outside of some of the bigger arena acts, Cincinnati doesn't miss out of much. The only real acts we miss out on are big stadium tours, which should go to PBS.

 

I'd love for Cincinnati to get NCAA tournaments but with other venues so close it's an uphill battle. However, a renovated US Bank Arena might be able to swipe the First Four from Dayton. UD Arena is a dump.

 

^ Ah, probably a xavier fan.  :roll:

 

UD Arena is the best college basketball facility in Ohio, and it's not even close. Apparently, the NCAA, ESPN and CBS agree. I would hate to see it go but there have been rumblings that a new facility closer to campus is an eventuality. As it is, it's a star in the college basketball world and the only place that I've ever heard get louder is Rupp Arena. And Dayton continues to get the First Four because the city embraces it and puts on a great show; it's more than just the arena. The games are sold out, despite most of the teams being from far-flung locations. Cincinnati can't sell out NFL playoff games, Reds games without thousands of visiting fans, UC football/basketball games, etc. The thought of Cincinnati selling out games featuring Boise State, Cal, Iona and Western Kentucky is laughable.

 

Fifth Third Arena is a poorly designed shoebox ill-equipped for basketball and is incredibly annoying for casual fans to access. The Cintas Center is nothing more than the Nutter Center with blue seats - ugly as sin, dull and with a hideous cinderblock wall behind one of the baskets. Do they want to host basketball games or banquets? The Schott at OSU is a multipurpose monstrocity with no personality designed to accommodate hockey, which renders it as sterile and lifeless as most NBA arenas. Miami's Millett Hall is a cruel joke. BG, Cleveland State and Ohio have nice facilities.

 

Ah, clearly a UD fan.  ;)

 

UD Arena is nice, but it is not the be-all end-all that some UD fans seems to think it is.  Because of the construction you can't have certain must-haves in this day and age (like the video screen in the middle) and are stuck with the crappy video boards at the end.  And there are some very nice seats, but the seats at the 400 level are WAAAAAY up there.  And just based on the age, it's not going to have the modern stuff that you see elsewhere (practice courts, training facilities, etc.). 

 

I know from some recent discussions on UD message boards that the idea of a new arena is at least being bandied about for UD.  Will be interesting to see if they do. 

A new arena would be nice, but money needs to be focused elsewhere at this time.  I think we need to finish the Banks and work on putting in more light rail before a new arena could be considered.  We will not be getting an NBA or NHL team for a long time, so the thought that a new arena would bring a team here is ill advised at best.  I'd say we'll see a new arena around 2022 or so.

 

As for where to put a new one, I also think by Union Terminal would be a great spot.  Have a streetcar line run to Union Terminal so people can go elsewhere downtown without having to pay for parking twice.   

As much as I'd love a new arena the best solution is for UC and US Bank arena to partner to renovate the current arena. As far as concerts go, we have good options already. Most summer tours go to Riverbend and now Bunbury. Most smaller acts have options in town and outside of some of the bigger arena acts, Cincinnati doesn't miss out of much. The only real acts we miss out on are big stadium tours, which should go to PBS.

 

I'd love for Cincinnati to get NCAA tournaments but with other venues so close it's an uphill battle. However, a renovated US Bank Arena might be able to swipe the First Four from Dayton. UD Arena is a dump.

 

^ Ah, probably a xavier fan.  :roll:

 

UD Arena is the best college basketball facility in Ohio, and it's not even close. Apparently, the NCAA, ESPN and CBS agree. I would hate to see it go but there have been rumblings that a new facility closer to campus is an eventuality. As it is, it's a star in the college basketball world and the only place that I've ever heard get louder is Rupp Arena. And Dayton continues to get the First Four because the city embraces it and puts on a great show; it's more than just the arena. The games are sold out, despite most of the teams being from far-flung locations. Cincinnati can't sell out NFL playoff games, Reds games without thousands of visiting fans, UC football/basketball games, etc. The thought of Cincinnati selling out games featuring Boise State, Cal, Iona and Western Kentucky is laughable.

 

Fifth Third Arena is a poorly designed shoebox ill-equipped for basketball and is incredibly annoying for casual fans to access. The Cintas Center is nothing more than the Nutter Center with blue seats - ugly as sin, dull and with a hideous cinderblock wall behind one of the baskets. Do they want to host basketball games or banquets? The Schott at OSU is a multipurpose monstrocity with no personality designed to accommodate hockey, which renders it as sterile and lifeless as most NBA arenas. Miami's Millett Hall is a cruel joke. BG, Cleveland State and Ohio have nice facilities.

 

Ah, clearly a UD fan.  ;)

 

UD Arena is nice, but it is not the be-all end-all that some UD fans seems to think it is.  Because of the construction you can't have certain must-haves in this day and age (like the video screen in the middle) and are stuck with the crappy video boards at the end.  And there are some very nice seats, but the seats at the 400 level are WAAAAAY up there.  And just based on the age, it's not going to have the modern stuff that you see elsewhere (practice courts, training facilities, etc.). 

 

I know from some recent discussions on UD message boards that the idea of a new arena is at least being bandied about for UD.  Will be interesting to see if they do. 

 

They had better not be considering doing anything with UD Arena. It is the best basketball arena I know of at least. Give it a few more years, and I'm sure it could use a remodel, like any building, but it works great and looks great! Heck, it's even where Pres. Obama chose to take Prime Minister David Cameron when he came to America for a basketball game. The place has atmosphere..... lots of it.

 

Now UD just needs to back it up with a quality team!

In my previous line of work I traveled to many arenas as a professional. I've even worked NCAA events at UD including the one the POTIS attended. I can tell you that from a locker room standpoint, media facilities standpoint, and overall quality of venue (narrow concourses, poor video and audio), UD arena is totally lacking. If it wasn't for the proximity to many of the major colleges and the fact that Dayton is a basketball crazy town, it wouldn't be the First Four venue. I know Dayton fans love it for the same reason Duke fans love Cameron Indoor and Butler fans love Hinkle (both are holes). It's nostalgia. It's the atmosphere.

 

The arenas at OSU, Louisville, and yes, even Xavier are far superior to UD Arena. I am confident that an updated US Bank Arena that is configured better for basketball could make a great case for hosting the First Four. Cincinnati is within 2 hours of several top colleges and is a pretty good college basketball town. There would be no other major sports happening in town at the same time. As a former Cincinnati native, I want my town to have great events and I firmly believe the Queen City would be just as good if not better at hosting the First Four

It's nostalgia. It's the atmosphere.

 

But that's generally what makes a good arena in the first place.  Technically, Great American Ballpark is a better facility than Wrigley or Fenway but you'd be laughed out of baseball forums if you'd state that it was a better park.  Granted, UD Arena is no Wrigley but you get the point.  But honestly, all the arenas in Southwest Ohio aren't good.  I suppose the Nutter and Cintas would be "the best" but that's like saying Vladivostok is the best city in western Russia.

Eh, I've been to a lot of ballparks.  Wrigley is way overrated.  The view from the seats is good (unless you get an obstruction), but just about everything else about it is not.  There's a reason they're about to do a massive (and massively expensive) renovation.  It depends on what you're looking for in a park or arena, I guess, but the trend is certainly to focus on improving the "fan experience" elements of a trip to the park or arena, like concourses, bathrooms, etc.  Nippert is a great example of this.  Cool atmosphere, nice sight lines, but needs tons of work on the other aspects. 

You won't be seeing any major NCAA/BCS events at Nippert. History & nostalgia makes a venue great for home team fans, but not for the NCAA.

^^ The thing that strikes me about Wrigley is the atmosphere around it.  You are in the middle of a highly populated neighborhood, very urban, right off the station, very cool atmosphere.

 

Yes, there is a good reason for the renovation.  The concourse is severely lacking and needs an update.  If you were to compare the actually quality of the stadium, of course GABP is better, but it is the atmosphere that helps Wrigley.

 

I noticed that the walk to Wrigley is a lot more charming and entertaining, while the walk to GABP isn't so much.  If they get the Banks built up even more, put the pads over Ft. Washington Way, etc., all of that will help tremendously IMO.  It will happen eventually!

Maybe some perspective here...

 

In the last 15 or so years, Louisville has upgraded their facilities for the two major revenue sports.  While playing in old Cardinal Stadium was certainly nostalgic, playing in PJCS kills any inclination of pining for the old days of sitting on metal bleachers, in a retrofitted baseball stadium.

 

I attended the last game in Freedom Hall.  It stands as an equal to Wrigley and Fenway in it's (CBB) lore.  The Cardinals played there for 54 years and it has hosted 6 Final Fours.  While I was sad to see it go, attending games at the YUM! has the same affect as PJCS.  Nobody misses it.  Good memories.  But nobody misses it.

 

So charming to me is something that is overrated.  The new places just have too many amenities.

 

For USBA, I think a Freedom Hall style make over would be best if it could work.  In 1984, they lowered the floor 10-15 feet and added in suites between a new two-tiered grandstand (it was previously just one).  Capacity went from 16k+ to just under 20k. Is this possible?  What's under it?

 

One consideration is the huge end zones for hockey and whether the current configuration is best for both.  YUM! solves this by pushing the hockey closer to one end.

 

Edited for typo.

rabbit hash, I agree 100% about "amenities". You can have a great atmosphere in a Hinkle or at Kansas or Duke, but those old Arenas lack

amenities, and the seating is tight. Lots of noise on the UC message boards about a major US Bank renovation and UC parking basketball

there. Downtown business community, maybe 1 corporation in particular is supposed to help out. UC will put a little money toward the

renovation but not much, certainly not the lion's share. Many think this helps to brand UC Basketball more significantly. Downtown is just so

much more different and alive than it was post Gale Gatlett / Tony Yates when UC used to play down there. Totally different Downtown and

totally different bball program also. I think the power brokers would like to see UC fill that Gap between the Bengals season end and the

start of Reds season, which of course is college basketball. FWIW the Yum Center is awesome.

I don't feel the same nostalgia towards Arenas that I do towards baseball stadiums and football stadiums. Nothing can replace Nippert, or Lambeau. Nothing can replace Wrigley or Fenway. The draw for me about Wrigley is that most of the atmosphere hasn't changed in 100 years. There are no giant video boards with highlights or cheesy animations. No gimmicks like trivia questions or dance cams. It's baseball in its purest form.  Maybe since I'm looking at it from an outsider's perspective I have a different view than many in Chicago, but I love going to games at Wrigley because it doesn't have the barrage of advertisements and gimmicks that you see at almost every other ballpark.

 

Unfortunately that is about to change with the new renovations.

 

As for arenas, I am a huge fan of the Red Wings. Sure Joe Louis Arena has seen a lot of great moments and many people feel nostalgic about it. But very few are fighting to keep The Joe because it is a dump. It doesn't have the same pure feeling that Wrigley has.

 

I also don't feel the same nostalgia for Shoemaker Center/Fifth Third Arena. As it stands, I think a lot of people simply park at UC, go to the game, and leave. They aren't patronizing a lot of the businesses in the area (for the most part). I would be supportive of moving UC basketball to US Bank if they provide some large renovations.

Eh, I've been to a lot of ballparks.  Wrigley is way overrated.  The view from the seats is good (unless you get an obstruction), but just about everything else about it is not.  There's a reason they're about to do a massive (and massively expensive) renovation.  It depends on what you're looking for in a park or arena, I guess, but the trend is certainly to focus on improving the "fan experience" elements of a trip to the park or arena, like concourses, bathrooms, etc.  Nippert is a great example of this.  Cool atmosphere, nice sight lines, but needs tons of work on the other aspects. 

 

What's great about Wrigley is that the focus is on BASEBALL, not on getting little kids to look at themselves on TV.  Say goodbye to that when they finish their renovation and have a huge screen like every other park.  I hope the fans in Chicago are ready for inane crap like the "Cheezy Dance Cam".  You're right that the physical park isn't the best out there, but the Cubs don't apologize for baseball like nearly every other team does by filling every second of downtime with zany audio/visual "entertainment".

 

 

EDIT: Didn't see ryanlammi's post until I finished mine.  Sorry for the largely duplicate sentiment, but I'm glad that I'm not the only person out there that is fed up with the current MLB "fan" experience. 

Eh, I've been to a lot of ballparks.  Wrigley is way overrated.  The view from the seats is good (unless you get an obstruction), but just about everything else about it is not.  There's a reason they're about to do a massive (and massively expensive) renovation.  It depends on what you're looking for in a park or arena, I guess, but the trend is certainly to focus on improving the "fan experience" elements of a trip to the park or arena, like concourses, bathrooms, etc.  Nippert is a great example of this.  Cool atmosphere, nice sight lines, but needs tons of work on the other aspects. 

 

What's great about Wrigley is that the focus is on BASEBALL, not on getting little kids to look at themselves on TV.  Say goodbye to that when they finish their renovation and have a huge screen like every other park.  I hope the fans in Chicago are ready for inane crap like the "Cheezy Dance Cam".  You're right that the physical park isn't the best out there, but the Cubs don't apologize for baseball like nearly every other team does by filling every second of downtime with zany audio/visual "entertainment".

 

 

EDIT: Didn't see ryanlammi's post until I finished mine.  Sorry for the largely duplicate sentiment, but I'm glad that I'm not the only person out there that is fed up with the current MLB "fan" experience. 

 

LOL, the PA announcers and big screens coming up with stuff to put on kids' phone screens anytime the ball's not in the air. Unfortunately, it seems that families are the only people who spend money anymore so everything involving entertainment has to put kids first.

 

No way are these kids going to put up with long driving commutes in adulthood.

Eh, I've been to a lot of ballparks.  Wrigley is way overrated.  The view from the seats is good (unless you get an obstruction), but just about everything else about it is not.  There's a reason they're about to do a massive (and massively expensive) renovation.  It depends on what you're looking for in a park or arena, I guess, but the trend is certainly to focus on improving the "fan experience" elements of a trip to the park or arena, like concourses, bathrooms, etc.  Nippert is a great example of this.  Cool atmosphere, nice sight lines, but needs tons of work on the other aspects. 

 

What's great about Wrigley is that the focus is on BASEBALL, not on getting little kids to look at themselves on TV.  Say goodbye to that when they finish their renovation and have a huge screen like every other park.  I hope the fans in Chicago are ready for inane crap like the "Cheezy Dance Cam".  You're right that the physical park isn't the best out there, but the Cubs don't apologize for baseball like nearly every other team does by filling every second of downtime with zany audio/visual "entertainment".

 

 

EDIT: Didn't see ryanlammi's post until I finished mine.  Sorry for the largely duplicate sentiment, but I'm glad that I'm not the only person out there that is fed up with the current MLB "fan" experience. 

 

 

The focus in Riverfront Stadium was...baseball.  Or football. 

 

And the great thing about Riverfront was how not loud the PA system was.  Paul Brown is the same way -- you can barely hear the bad music.  Meanwhile at Great American they're blasting Nickelback for 12 seconds, then some other crap for 12 seconds, then some other crap for 12 seconds and you can't hear yourself talk to the next person. 

 

They play Welcome to the Jungle 15 times at every Bengals game, and you can barely hear it.  It's always better to wish music was louder than to wish they'd turn it down. 

 

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NCAA_Men%27s_Division_I_Basketball_Tournament_venues

 

I think a renovated US Bank could be a candidate for early round NCAA games.

^There's no maybe to that.  If it were reno'd then I'd say it would definitely win a bid.  Cincy is soooo central to a ton of great programs.  More so than any city, really.  It would draw really well.

^There's no maybe to that.  If it were reno'd then I'd say it would definitely win a bid.  Cincy is soooo central to a ton of great programs.  More so than any city, really.  It would draw really well.

 

The top 5 tv markets for college basketball are Louisville, Raleigh Durham, Cincinnati, Columbus, Indianapolis etc.

 

Eleven markets have been in the top five at least once from 2002-03 to 2012-13: Charlotte, Cincinnati, Columbus, Greensboro, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Knoxville, Louisville, Memphis, Oklahoma City and Raleigh-Durham.

http://espnmediazone.com/us/press-releases/2013/03/mens-college-basketball-most-viewed-regular-season-ever-on-espn/

USBA is hosting the NCAA Hockey Regional in March, BTW.

U.S. Bank Arena falling behind competitors

Upgrade or not? Owners' choices affect region

 

A bid to bring the 2016 Republican National Convention to Cincinnati has brought a new urgency to the conversation about what to do about the city’s shabby arena, which is almost 40 years old and hasn’t had a major renovation since 1997.

 

Simply put: U.S. Bank Arena is so old that the biggest and best conventions and concerts are bypassing Cincinnati in favor of newer, amenity-laden facilities. The author of a study on the arena’s economic impact warned that the arena’s lackluster condition is costing the area’s economy.

 

“The arena is at a point where they need to make a decision about where they need to be in the next five to 10 years,” said Dan Lincoln, president and CEO of the Cincinnati USA Convention & Visitors Bureau. “It will determine what types of events we – and they – can attract into the arena.”

 

Unlike other cities, Cleveland and Columbus among them, U.S. Bank Arena isn’t publicly funded. It’s owned by Nederlander Co., which also owns the building’s sole tenant – mid-level hockey’s Cincinnati Cyclones.

 

Cont

U.S. Bank Arena falling behind competitors

Upgrade or not? Owners' choices affect region

 

Simply put: U.S. Bank Arena is so old that the biggest and best conventions and concerts are bypassing Cincinnati in favor of newer, amenity-laden facilities. The author of a study on the arena’s economic impact warned that the arena’s lackluster condition is costing the area’s economy.

 

Cont

 

I'd like to find specific examples of concerts that have passed on Cincinnati solely based on the arena condition.  If there's money to be made, they will play there.  And being privately owned by Nederlander, they are in a much better negotiating position on rent. 

 

Furthermore, I'd like to see his list of conventions that have passed.  Other than the RNC, there aren't many conventions booking arena sized spaces.  We have the Q in Cleveland which only sees a couple of convention bookings, and those are simply spin-off events from the main convention at the convention center.

 

 

yeah, the concert thing is bugging me, too, but I will admit to being pretty out of it regarding what's popular.

I have looked at tour schedules for some time now & nobody comes even close. They skip all of Ohio, Indiana & Kentucky usually.

Bruce Springsteen seems like what Riverbend would get - boring old farts. I just figured the problem was local promoters - not the facility.

^ Columbus gets a lot of the bigger arena acts simply because they have a better arena.  Same with Louisville.  You are correct, though, that a lot of acts bypass much of the Midwest (excluding Chicago and sometimes Detroit) altogether.

Renovating US Bank Arena is such a waste of money. That's alot of lipstick that will have to be put on that pig. On top of that, it's in a highly undesireable area (except during Tall Stacks or Bunbury perhaps) of downtown that feels very isolated from The Banks and the CBD. Just like Cyclones games I don't see many people sticking around after the conclusion of an event or game.

 

I haven't run numbers or looked at analyses, but I would imagine that the amount of capital required to renovate US Bank to make it highly competitive for Top 20 Concert tours, NCAA regionals, GOP/DEM national conventions, would force the conversation to change to developing a new arena. And economic development impact cannot be overstated - placement of the arena is crucial and lets not be naive, US Bank Arena is not in a good location in downtown Cincinnati.

 

It's simply a terrible idea to redevelop US Bank arena when reviewing the cost opportunity of that required capital combined with risk adjusted returns for the city and county plus the economic development impact of the surrounding area.

 

P.S. Cincinnati always loses out on the leading concerts. I am a music junkie. They always go to Columbus and sometimes Indy instead because you named it ----they have a top notch arena.

 

 

What? Lytle place is highly undesireable???

No offense to anyone, but lot of this conversation seems pointless. Someone could start a topic called Cincinnati: Downtown: New Tallest Building that be just as useful. Without a new tenat or any talk to fill the thing it's just conjecture. I'm jealous of the YUM center and Bridgestone and the new Rupp arena looks amazing and I also like 1,000 foot tall buildings in other cities but that doesn't mean we can just build them. Unless there is a possibility of getting an NBA team, the amount of money needed could be spent smarter.

Riverfront Coliseum was built with private dollars and is still privately owned.  It costs the city nothing to have a B-grade arena.  So we're not talking about going from F to A with a $300~ publicly-financed arena -- we're talking about an incremental improvement.  Horrible and perhaps negative ROI compared to what happened recently in Louisville and Columbus. 

 

 

^ Columbus gets a lot of the bigger arena acts simply because they have a better arena.  Same with Louisville.  You are correct, though, that a lot of acts bypass much of the Midwest (excluding Chicago and sometimes Detroit) altogether.

 

Columbus gets more arena acts because there is more disposable income in the market, and they have two competing arenas to keep the rent down.  Sure a nicer arena helps, but up until a few years ago acts were still flowing through arenas like Mellon in Pittsburgh, which was WAY worse than US Bank in Cinci. 

^ Columbus gets a lot of the bigger arena acts simply because they have a better arena.  Same with Louisville.  You are correct, though, that a lot of acts bypass much of the Midwest (excluding Chicago and sometimes Detroit) altogether.

 

Columbus gets more arena acts because there is more disposable income in the market, and they have two competing arenas to keep the rent down.  Sure a nicer arena helps, but up until a few years ago acts were still flowing through arenas like Mellon in Pittsburgh, which was WAY worse than US Bank in Cinci. 

 

I thought I saw a few months ago that Cincinnati was poised to take over as the largest economy in Ohio with Columbus a distant 3rd? How does Columbus have more disposable income

Riverfront Coliseum was built with private dollars and is still privately owned.  It costs the city nothing to have a B-grade arena.  So we're not talking about going from F to A with a $300~ publicly-financed arena -- we're talking about an incremental improvement.  Horrible and perhaps negative ROI compared to what happened recently in Louisville and Columbus.

 

Unless there is a possibility of getting an NBA team, the amount of money needed could be spent smarter.

 

Exactly.  Given the current situation (private arena with a single tenant owned by the owner of the arena), something major would have to change before building a new one with public money is a realistic possibility, let alone for it to make sense.  If the city wants a new or vastly upgraded arena, it needs to find another tenant for US Bank Arena at the very least, because US Bank Arena is fine arena for an ECHL hockey team and the occasional event.  NBA, NFL, IHL, Arena League, even MLS if you went with a brand new dome-type structure.  And ideally, the main person advocating for another team would be the owner of the current arena and sole tenant. 

 

I'd love to see US Bank Arena get replaced with something better, but you need demand to drive changes like that.  I'm not sure that missing out on the occasional concert is enough.

 

 

^ Columbus gets a lot of the bigger arena acts simply because they have a better arena.  Same with Louisville.  You are correct, though, that a lot of acts bypass much of the Midwest (excluding Chicago and sometimes Detroit) altogether.

 

Columbus gets more arena acts because there is more disposable income in the market, and they have two competing arenas to keep the rent down.  Sure a nicer arena helps, but up until a few years ago acts were still flowing through arenas like Mellon in Pittsburgh, which was WAY worse than US Bank in Cinci. 

 

I thought I saw a few months ago that Cincinnati was poised to take over as the largest economy in Ohio with Columbus a distant 3rd? How does Columbus have more disposable income

 

Columbus has a higher percentage of young professionals with no kids than Cincy and Cleveland.

A buddy of mine looked it up and found that the last time Iron Maiden came to town was in the '90s.

A buddy of mine looked it up and found that the last time Iron Maiden came to town was in the '90s.

 

Judas Priest played US Bank on election night 2011. 

Snoop dog was here Friday.  Micheal Jackson never came back after his concert here in the 80's and the city has done just fine. I doubt anyone moves to an area just because they attracts more concerts.

Snoop dog was here Friday.  Micheal Jackson never came back after his concert here in the 80's and the city has done just fine. I doubt anyone moves to an area just because they attracts more concerts.

 

Exactly this. We need to articulate who's going to use this arena, how often, and how much money that's going to bring. I don't think the numbers would add up to make it worthwhile. It sounds nice, but let the private sector deal with it unless/until it's an obvious money maker. We need other capital improvements more, like transit, FWW caps, NBD improvements (incl. buried electric lines), etc.

I doubt anyone moves to an area just because they attracts more concerts.

au contraire.

That was a major factor in my moving to Porktown. Bogart's & Riverfront.

I doubt anyone moves to an area just because they attracts more concerts.

au contraire.

That was a major factor in my moving to Porktown. Bogart's & Riverfront.

 

Right. It's part of the cultural landscape of the city.  One of the aspects of Los Angeles that I miss the most is the live music scene.  That extends from small, intimate shows, to large arena shows at Staples, to outdoor shows at the Hollywood Bowl. 

 

I thought I saw a few months ago that Cincinnati was poised to take over as the largest economy in Ohio with Columbus a distant 3rd? How does Columbus have more disposable income

 

I can think of 65,000 reasons just on campus at OSU alone.

A coincidence (or maybe not), I just heard a piece on WLWT that there are talks of upgrading US Bank Arena.  It would cost at least 80 million.  "Hundreds of thousands of dollars" are already being spent to add 1,000 seats. 

 

I thought I saw a few months ago that Cincinnati was poised to take over as the largest economy in Ohio with Columbus a distant 3rd? How does Columbus have more disposable income

 

I can think of 65,000 reasons just on campus at OSU alone.

 

CLeburger - College kids do not have much disposable income. Student loans don't count as real disposable income. Besides UC and NKU combined have that many students, so what's your point

 

I thought I saw a few months ago that Cincinnati was poised to take over as the largest economy in Ohio with Columbus a distant 3rd? How does Columbus have more disposable income

 

I can think of 65,000 reasons just on campus at OSU alone.

 

CLeburger - College kids do not have much disposable income. Student loans don't count as real disposable income. Besides UC and NKU combined have that many students, so what's your point

 

Sure they do!  It's spent on credit cards or mom & dad's money, using student discounts for tickets.  The Schottenstein does a great job selling tickets with the arena on campus.

 

They may not have a lot of money, but the little they do they consider disposable...

I have to agree that the students at OSU likely have more people and more disposable income than those attending UC. UC gets a lot of first generation students and commuters who spend little money. I would be willing to bet students at OSU likely come from more affluent families with more disposable income. And students as a whole are pretty bad with money while in school.