Location of Casino in Columbus (Cleveland, Gahanna: neighborhoods, high school, living in)

[NorthPoleMarathoner]

Originally Posted by coach123

Hockey has one of the longest seasons in all of professional sports. It starts in September with pre-season and can go all the way into June. I am not sure where you got that it is only a winter sport. Jackets can have as many as 4 home games a week some weeks, plus there are other events in the summer. When the league was on strike a few years ago, there were daily news stories of how all the restaurants and business that operate in the arena district were struggling because of lack of attendance. Before the Jackets there was nothing to do downtown. All of the downtown revitalization projects started around the arena district. Downtown area has become a desired place to live in the last 5 years, but you stick a casino there and that all will go out the window. Do you want to live a few blocks away from a casino? I wouldn't. It's one thing to have events and hockey games a few nights a week, it's another to have a 24/7 casino with all the noise, alcohol, and everything else that will come with a casino in your backyard.

I moved from Columbus/Westerville to Tropicana Ave in Las Vegas. I lived two blocks form the strip. You couldn't tell the difference in crime, etc. I forget the exact number but I think Las Vegas has 180 casinos. You don't see any orgaized crime, prostitiion, drugs and all the other things people think come with casinos. Occassionally I would see someone walking down Maryland Parkway with a beer. Usually a local and never drunk. That's about it.

This was a bad bill though. It should have allowed for an unlimited number of casinos throughout the state. Columbus could easily support 3 large casinos and a few smaller ones. Cleveland could probably have 5 successful casinos. Have cheap flights into the airports from Philadelphia, Atlanta, new York and such.

I think people would be suprised if they actually lived in Las Vegas or Reno. It really isn't all that much different than any other large city.

[nickw252]

Originally Posted by NorthPoleMarathoner

This was a bad bill though. It should have allowed for an unlimited number of casinos throughout the state. Columbus could easily support 3 large casinos and a few smaller ones. Cleveland could probably have 5 successful casinos. Have cheap flights into the airports from Philadelphia, Atlanta, new York and such.

I think people would be suprised if they actually lived in Las Vegas or Reno. It really isn't all that much different than any other large city.

I agree with you 100%, and if I lived in Las Vegas I would want to live downtown within walking distance of all the casinos and entertainment on Fremont Street. I like Fremont Street better than the Strip.

[Clevelander17]

Originally Posted by coach123

I've heard one report yesterday that Nationwide Arena is not getting enough in rent from the Columbus Blue Jackets and have lost money on the building over the last 5 years. They are looking at possible puting another tenant in there and are looking at that tenant to possibly be the casino which would mean the team would relocate to another city. If that happens you can say goodby to downtown Columbus and all the restaurants and businesses that are primarily in business due to the events in the Arena.

This is correct, but something will be worked out. The Blue Jackets are a long ways off from leaving town.

[Tenzo]

Originally Posted by nickw252

I Columbus already has a very prosperous downtown

huh? have you walked down High street (the main drag) in the downtown area?
There are more empty storefronts than rented storefronts.

[nickw252]

Originally Posted by Tenzo

huh? have you walked down High street (the main drag) in the downtown area?
There are more empty storefronts than rented storefronts.

Have things drastically changed lately? The last time I was was in downtown/short north/campus area was in October of 2008 and I thought it was very prosperous.

Maybe our definitions of prosperous are different, obviously it's not Michigan Ave. in Chicago or Times Square in New York but it's certainly not Woodward Ave. in Detroit either.

[Tenzo]

Originally Posted by nickw252

Have things drastically changed lately? The last time I was was in downtown/short north/campus .

Thought we were talking about downtown.
Drove by today. Am sure there are more vacancies than stores.


Oh wait!
I think I see a shopper in the 20 year old city center mall


Over on the right, in a red shirt, by the.... the... wait, there are no stores....

[Clevelander17]

They're tearing City Center down. If expectations are met, that part of downtown should be much improved in a few years.

[wGoshen]

I was surprised to drive by on 3rd Street Tuesday and see demolition underway already.

[coach123]

Originally Posted by Clevelander17

They're tearing City Center down. If expectations are met, that part of downtown should be much improved in a few years.

Expectations will not be met. It will be a public park that will be overrun with homeless people and crackheads and we are all paying for it.

[Clevelander17]

Originally Posted by coach123

Expectations will not be met. It will be a public park that will be overrun with homeless people and crackheads and we are all paying for it.

Maybe, maybe not, but either way I know you're hoping that's the case.