Hampton Roads Off-Topic Talk

[vdogg]

On 8/8/2020 at 9:16 PM, baobabs727 said:

Don’t know how to do a poll here but anyway, how many of you here have left HR ...or have ever thought about leaving the area (and who has thought of this recently?) for better job prospects, larger city amenities—general entertainment offerings, professional sports, etc.?  I think we would all like to grow faster here while maintaining or improving our current quality of life. Achieving that is a long and arduous journey akin to walking a tightrope across the Grand Canyon, as we all know.

Additionally, who thinks we will achieve a certain level of big city atmosphere/amenities  here and well-diversified economy plus substantive public transit before your life (or working life) is over?  I mean, that’s a pretty stark question there, but we’ve all thought about it. 

It'll definitely happen in the next 10 years. Literally the only thing holding us back is Covid. We were about to take off this year before that happened, but between Amazon and the decent population increases, we'll get there.

[baobabs727]

2 hours ago, vdogg said:

It'll definitely happen in the next 10 years. Literally the only thing holding us back is Covid. We were about to take off this year before that happened, but between Amazon and the decent population increases, we'll get there.

Hope so.  some of us have been cheerleading for a very long time. Sigh. 

[BFG]

The HR Chamber is holding a "megaregion" (757-804) conference tomorrow, with a virtual component available.  I'm gonna check out as much as I can, to see what the people behind this are thinking.

https://web.hamptonroadschamber.com/events/Convergence2020-403/details

[baobabs727]

Another “top 20 best places to live” survey. Not a single freaking one in Virginia, but guess who has three?? Hint:  it’s a neighbor  

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-best-places-to-live-in-america-in-2020-2020-10-12

 

 

 

[BFG]

So 2019 population numbers are in, and we've definitely grown as a region. The left column is "Combined Statistical Area", which includes Elizabeth City and Kill Devil Hills. I imagine that's used for media market coverage. Regardless, we're at 1.86M there, and I imagine it went up a hair in 2020 as well, esp. if military is now included.

The right columns are "Core Based Statistical Area", which is 1.77M. 

This is great to see.

[vdogg]

7 hours ago, BFG said:

So 2019 population numbers are in, and we've definitely grown as a region. The left column is "Combined Statistical Area", which includes Elizabeth City and Kill Devil Hills. I imagine that's used for media market coverage. Regardless, we're at 1.86M there, and I imagine it went up a hair in 2020 as well, esp. if military is now included.

The right columns are "Core Based Statistical Area", which is 1.77M. 

This is great to see.

Comparing to the few 2010 numbers I could find it looks like we gained 200-300,000 people, which is quite significant. Anecdotally I knew we had grown just from the increased traffic and pace of construction, but the magnitude of this shocks me.

Looks like Virginia Beach gained about 12,000, Chesapeake 20,000. Norfolk unfortunately stagnated.

[BFG]

According to the RVA forum, LinkedIn did a chart of cities that have gained and lost residents, based on LinkedIn profile changes. According to them, it was a 3% gain for HR. 

Apparently, we’re up to 1.86M. 

 

[BFG]

Was doing a little reading on Twitter and came across an interesting fact from a couple years ago. Does anybody remember something called the "Harbor Dome"?

 

 

Edited May 15, 2021 by BFG

[Mountain_Junior]

Was doing a little reading on Twitter and came across an interesting fact from a couple years ago. Does anybody remember something called the "Harbor Dome"?
   
http://content.invisioncic.com/x329420/monthly_2021_05/1239089896_ScreenShot2021-05-14at10_17_51PM.png.dc4517e4e25132d5c9a94bb066b20e00.png

Very interesting. Never heard of this. Here’s what I found in the Sep 14, 1984 edition of the Daily Press. Hope the pics are legible.

Looks like this was the brainchild of Brad Face and other of the Future of Hampton Roads Inc. but it appears it would’ve gone where the MMBT is now.

[BFG]

Thanks! Pretty interesting concept. And just like a possible arena, it looks like the area has kicked stadium plans down the road for decades too. 

A former councilman says the NFL once considered this area. I think that was in the mid-70s, when Tampa and Seattle got teams. 

[Mountain_Junior]

Thanks! Pretty interesting concept. And just like a possible arena, it looks like the area has kicked stadium plans down the road for decades too. 
A former councilman says the NFL once considered this area. I think that was in the mid-70s, when Tampa and Seattle got teams. 

You’re not kidding. Here’s the ones I know of (not including the Harbordome above). There’s probably more than this list, but these are the ones I could pull together quickly.



late 1960s - Newport News and Hampton were set to jointly finance a major coliseum on the Peninsula, tentatively called the Peninsula Arena-Auditorium. But Newport News later backed out, and Hampton City Council financed the entire cost of what is now called Hampton Coliseum.

1969/1970 - Four city stadium idea was floated. Norfolk, VB, Portsmouth, Chesapeake. When a site in Norfolk was proposed, the others backed out.

1985 - Future of Hampton Roads Inc pulls together funds to explore building a major league sports facility in HRVA.

1986 - Sports Authority of Hampton Roads is formed to try to build a proposed NASCAR superspeedway in Isle of Wight County that was never built.

1991 - Combined Norfolk/VB baseball park (VB backed out and this eventually became Harbor Park).

Aug 1996 - Hampton Roads Sports Facility Authority (different from the one above from 1986) is formed to work on building an arena to lure pro sports team here.

1997 - Sports Council of Hampton Roads (a sub-element of the HR Chamber) works with Charlotte Hornets owner George Shinn to bring an NHL franchise(Rhinos) to Hampton Roads.

1997 - Hampton Roads Admirals owners Mark Garcea and Page Johnson seek construction of another arena if Hampton Roads' efforts to acquire Rhinos NHL team and build an arena in downtown Norfolk fails. The co-owners, who stressed they would pursue the arena only if the NHL did not award Hampton Roads a franchise, said they were considering several sites in Chesapeake, Virginia Beach and Norfolk. All of the locations were near I-64.

1997 - Williamsburg, York Co, Hampton, Newport News tried to lure the Durham Bulls to the Peninsula by jointly building a stadium.

April 2004 - Norfolk tries to lure Montreal Expos to the area with promise of a new stadium. The effort failed. The Expos moved to DC and became the Washington Nationals.

2012 The city of Virginia Beach's economic development authority spent nearly $700,000 laying plans to build a $350 million Oceanfront arena and attract a major professional sports team.


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[Mountain_Junior]

One more point on these sports/stadium efforts. What bugs me is folks who look at this list and still think that pep talks and “let’s all work together you guys” statements will make the region work together, like previous generations just didn’t want it bad enough.

This list makes it pretty clear that harmful competitive behaviors and the my-city-first mentality are not confined to any politician, any single initiative, any locality, or any time period. It’s a structural issue that is baked into our political environment and it won’t change until the structure does.

That is all. Thank you for attending my TED Talk.


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[Mountain_Junior]

Cross post from Hampton Roads transportation in case some here don’t read that thread.

Looking for some help confirming the truth or falsehood of a rumor I heard the other day at church. This guy said he was under the impression that Pharrell was requiring/requesting that VB hold another vote on light rail as part of the overall agreement to continue hosting the Something in the Water festival in VB. I did some searching and can find nothing supporting or denying it. It sounds like a “wouldn’t it be nice if...” that maybe got repeated enough times, but I don’t know for sure.


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[BFG]

As big as SITW was for the region, I wouldn’t be surprised if it were true. But I don’t think that’s gonna move the needle for the city. Lotta people in VB would be perfectly okay with the festival not coming back, which would be a shame. 

[vdogg]

18 hours ago, Mountain_Junior said:

Cross post from Hampton Roads transportation in case some here don’t read that thread.

Looking for some help confirming the truth or falsehood of a rumor I heard the other day at church. This guy said he was under the impression that Pharrell was requiring/requesting that VB hold another vote on light rail as part of the overall agreement to continue hosting the Something in the Water festival in VB. I did some searching and can find nothing supporting or denying it. It sounds like a “wouldn’t it be nice if...” that maybe got repeated enough times, but I don’t know for sure.


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I seriously doubt such a stipulation was included. A repeat performance needs to be made before demands like that can be thrown out, plus I just don't see Pharrell doing that. Doesn't seem quite in his character.

[BFG]

We’re getting several Del Taco stores across Hampton Roads. Cali-based restaurant. 

https://www.pilotonline.com/inside-business/vp-ib-del-taco-0920-20210914-fv4uqt6iz5b65lskwxmrjdzv2e-story.html

[ronsmytheiii]

On 8/10/2020 at 8:46 PM, vdogg said:

It'll definitely happen in the next 10 years. Literally the only thing holding us back is Covid. We were about to take off this year before that happened, but between Amazon and the decent population increases, we'll get there.

So recently I had the opportunity to come back to the area, or go to the Richmond area and telework there. I choose the latter. While HR is always getting better... there is still a long way to go for me in urban development before I would go back there.

 

It will always be home, but maybe that is the problem.

[Mountain_Junior]

Pharrell Williams won’t bring back Something in the Water festival

By STACY PARKER
THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
OCT 05, 2021 AT 5:49 PM

https://www.pilotonline.com/government/local/vp-nw-pharrell-letter-1005-20211005-g3sajmxkrjeulodz4y4xxzs2fm-story.html

Excerpt:
The city’s leadership learned last week that Pharrell Williams will not bring back the highly successful Something in the Water Festival to Virginia Beach in 2022, and begged him in a letter to reconsider.
A few days later, the music superstar, who lived as a child in the city’s Seatack neighborhood, sent a letter back to the city manager, explaining his disappointment with Virginia Beach. Williams wrote that he wished the city had taken a more proactive stance after his cousin Donovon Lynch was shot by a police officer in the resort area last March.
Virginia Beach, Williams wrote, has been “run by - and with toxic energy.”
“I sang about a room without a roof, but I am tired of kindly and politely being shown the door,” he wrote.


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[BFG]

As disappointing as this is, I respect Pharrell's stance. And as much as I hate to see yet another major project move to the next city over, one of the other cities would be crazy not to work out a deal to keep it going.

[Kevin Cheph Randall]

Yeah this only strengthen my stance that VB continually is not a positive force for change in Hampton Roads. And being AA I can totally relate to the toxicity that Pharrell speaks of in VB. Sad really but not surprised I spoke of this months ago. 

 

[varider]

huge blow— does not bode well for the surf park or any other investment on his part for that matter — another chapter in the saga of 757 let-downs 

[Mountain_Junior]

huge blow— does not bode well for the surf park or any other investment on his part for that matter — another chapter in the saga of 757 let-downs 

I sometimes feel like despite all the talk we do about branding around here that this region’s real brand is “unrecognized potential.”


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[BFG]

I just read the City Manager's response on the Pilot article. Am I the only one who gets a "Please come back because we need your money" vibe? It felt disingenuous. 

[Mountain_Junior]

I just read the City Manager's response on the Pilot article. Am I the only one who gets a "Please come back because we need your money" vibe? It felt disingenuous. 

I feel like you read my mind. It really comes off as tone deaf to be like “we hear your ethical/moral complaints, but man look at all this money we made right?” It almost feels like it confirms his concerns in some tangential way.

[Kevin Cheph Randall]

What are the odds another city in VA gets SITW? Or will he leave VA for another city/State? I hope not that'll sting the most. 

Btw VA Beach has been taking alot of flack here lately, sheesh. The monkey noise neighbor has made national news as well. 

Also I know VA Beach take alot of flack here too, but now can sensible residents understand why. Giving the recent developments in news, VA Beach continues the legacy that created it, in 2021 smh.