Medical District (zoning, housing, arena)

[nortonguy]

I don't mind Paine have a arena that large.

[EastsideDave]

Originally Posted by nortonguy

I don't mind Paine have a arena that large.

You may not mind, but I'm sure the JBA and Convocation Ctr. will, since it will be hurting them...

[Hot_Mike]

Who care what they think. It's called competition. Who wouldnt want to be the big dog on campus with few competitors?

[nortonguy]

I don't see Paine trying to get big acts. The center will be used for community programs/events mostly.

[EastsideDave]

Originally Posted by nortonguy

I don't see Paine trying to get big acts. The center will be used for community programs/events mostly.

That's what they want you to think...there is such a thing as having to many venues, just like it's possible for a city to have too many malls (ie. Columbia)...Augusta just doesn't have the population to support 3 decent sized venues. The acts would spread between all 3, meaning that it would be hard for any of the venues to remain profitable (especially the JBA, the HEAL center and the Convocation Center have colleges to support them, but the JBA is solely supported by entertainment acts). Spreading the acts around doesn't mean greater selection for the public, it only means less revenue for each venue, and could result in an eventual demise of all 3, it's basic economic thinking. Now, if all 3 DID exist, then the JBA would have to do something to set itself apart from the rest, it would have to expand it's seating capacity so that the area has 1 large venue and 2 medium venues, instead of jues 3 medium venues. Do you guys get what I'm saying? ...And I'm not saying this will happen, it's just something I see as very possible because I don't think Paine is being truthful when they say they won't try to book shows.

[heckkle]

Originally Posted by Hot_Mike

Who care what they think. It's called competition. Who wouldnt want to be the big dog on campus with few competitors?

Good post

[EastsideDave]

Originally Posted by Hot_Mike

Who care what they think. It's called competition. Who wouldnt want to be the big dog on campus with few competitors?

The problem with your thinking is that Augusta CANNOT support multiple venues of this size (we are ONLY a metro of 500K, we're not some huge metropolis capably of supporting all these venues), the JBA has just started becoming profitable again, and now you all want to build something that's only going to take away from it's business, that doesn't make sense.. Drowning the market with medium size arenas will only result in none of them being profitable, like I said previously, if the HEAL center is built, the JBA needs to expand it's own seating capacity to set it apart from other venues. Plus this HEAL center would be partially paid for with city tax dollars, so I guess you all are fine with paying a private party for something that could very likely hurt the other publicly funded venue, then go right ahead...you all are too quick to jump on the bandwagon just because it's new construction, but remember, not all growth is good growth, just look at what happened when the wonderful malls came to town, downtown has never recovered. You all seem to not want to realize how this stuff works, for example, the Guitar Pull used to be held at the Bell Auditorium, then the Convocation Center was built, and it has been held there ever since, when the HEAL center is built, who's to say that other acts that may have originally chosen the JBA wouldn't chose the HEAL center instead, after all, it would be newer. Again, I'm not saying that this will happen, it's very likely it won't if Paine's officials are being truthful in there priorities for the HEAL center, but you people's way of thinking is very clouded if you think the introduction of a similarly sized arena wouldn't harm the JBA.

[EastsideDave]

Originally Posted by Hot_Mike

Who care what they think. It's called competition. Who wouldnt want to be the big dog on campus with few competitors?

Hot_Mike, you ask why the JBA wouldn't want a few competitors, do you even understand basic economics? You're saying that if you owned a business, you'd be perfectly happy splitting your customer base with new competitors than keeping all the business for yourself? Wow, you're a really generous person!

And yes, this was SUCH a good post, wanting to construct something that would potentially draw business away from a taxpayer funded institution is SO insightful, with this kind of thinking, it's no wonder Augusta was in the crapper for so long, but with our recent halfway intelligent leadership, at least now we're sitting on the lid instead of down in the toilet bowl, now all we need to do is get out of this smelly bathroom. (Was that a creative enough analogy?)

I already apologize for my rudeness, but I am sometimes appalled by how much you all fail to see the big picture of how things actually work in the real world.

[EastsideDave]

Sigh, that's all I'm going to say about this subject, and I apologize for my bluntness. I'm not even saying that this is going to happen, I'm just giving a 'what if' example. The fact of the matter is this, competition is bad, and this city is not large enough to support what many in this forum has on their 'wish list'. Now you all know how I feel, and this concludes my tirade for the week, I bid you all adieu.

[Hot_Mike]

Who wouldnt want to be the big dog on campus with few competitor?
This statement means JBA is perfectly fine Augusta's stagnent ways, as long all show coming to town are coming to them. Sorry ESD, whats best for JBA is not best for the AUG. Tell me this, why do some cities have more shows, but have less population than Augusta?