New indoor sports facility to replace the baseball stadium (Huntsville: tax, centers)

[Maya Blue]

Originally Posted by Dirt Grinder

At 3000 seats, it certainly won't serve as a venue for spectator events.

It definitely will. Especially for a town of our size.

[RocketCityMama]

Would love to see it have indoor track/field equipment. It doesn't necessarily have to hold t&f events like the crossplex in Birmingham but it would be nice for these kids to have an indoor location to train and hey if they held events there they could make some $$ too

[Dirt Grinder]

Originally Posted by Maya Blue

It definitely will. Especially for a town of our size.

That's not enough seating capacity for elementary/high school sporting events, unless they plan on playing soccer and basketball in the same arena.

Like I said, if it's funded privately I'm all for it - I just don't want to toss my money down that drain.

[dijkstra]

Originally Posted by Maya Blue

It definitely will. Especially for a town of our size.

Not close to big enough. For reference, the Huntsville Havoc has sell out crowds at times in the VBC arena and it holds 6216. Think about that for a minute, a minor league hockey team in the Southeastern US....in Alabama no less, sells out 6216 seats. Big music acts do not come to Huntsville very often because our arena is not large enough to give them the guaranteed payout they require.

Of course, I don't see soccer or lacrosse coming close to that but I question why someone would build an arena half the capacity of the one we already have that is already too small. I guess maybe they are going after a completely different market but I don't see how they will gross enough to cover the value of that property.

[AU HSV]

it is not meant to replace the VBC
What will have a bigger impact is the new Natatorium

[rock90]

Originally Posted by Dirt Grinder

Like I said, if it's funded privately I'm all for it - I just don't want to toss my money down that drain.

I guess it comes down to whether it provides a good value in terms of improving the quality of life in Huntsville, per taxpayer dollar spent. An easy one to calculate, eh?

I mean, if we want to avoid tossing money down the drain (literally), let's kill the new Natatorium ($20M). I'm sure it won't be a profit center for the city, either. But people will point to it when saying Huntsville's got some great recreation facilities. And maybe we'll get some new employees and job creators moving to Huntsville partly because they'll have a nice place to go swimming here, and more college grads will stay in town, and so on. At least that's how I hear it's supposed to work.

[CoreLysium]

Originally Posted by Dirt Grinder

At 3000 seats, it certainly won't serve as a venue for spectator events.

Well, it's not a 3000 seat waiting room.

[Maya Blue]

Originally Posted by dijkstra

Not close to big enough. For reference, the Huntsville Havoc has sell out crowds at times in the VBC arena and it holds 6216. Think about that for a minute, a minor league hockey team in the Southeastern US....in Alabama no less, sells out 6216 seats. Big music acts do not come to Huntsville very often because our arena is not large enough to give them the guaranteed payout they require.

Of course, I don't see soccer or lacrosse coming close to that but I question why someone would build an arena half the capacity of the one we already have that is already too small. I guess maybe they are going after a completely different market but I don't see how they will gross enough to cover the value of that property.

I think you are misunderstanding what this is for. This is not for professional sports.

[Justacoolguy]

Its is to service the community by providing a venue for a whole assortment of events. Its going after a completely different market. Ive heard from tons of people that this will draw folks from around the region for competitions. Lacrosse and indoor soccer are major draws for families, which is something that Huntsville has in adundance. An indoor flag football and basketball league would also cater to both federal organizations and contractors, providing a way for them to compete on the field, including a sportsbar for after game socializing. There are crossfit gyms popping up all over town, this place will provide a venue for competitions between gyms. Recently grappling competitions like NAGA and Goodfight have eyed Huntsville as a potential spot for competitions as well.

[Dirt Grinder]

Originally Posted by Justacoolguy

...Its going after a completely different market. Ive heard from tons of people that this will draw folks from around the region for competitions. Lacrosse and indoor soccer are major draws for families, which is something that Huntsville has in adundance...

If it's that good of an idea there shouldn't be any problem getting it funded as a private venture . I think it's just another boondoggle that will have to be funded with taxpayer money and operate at a loss .