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Hampton Roads Arena


vdogg

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6 minutes ago, vdogg said:

We'll never progress with that attitude. Odds are, the arena will be in Norfolk anyway. The most important thing is that the cities seem willing to bury the hatchet and move forward for the common good. The citizens need to be able to do the same if we're going to make this work.

I'm all for regionalism, especially on large projects like transportation, arenas/stadiums, etc. I hope as this moves forward (if it does) the Authority gives Norfolk and Chesapeake a fair shot. I can just see VA Beach trying to wrestle this thing because of "larger population", "oceanfront", "tourism", "convention center" reasons. The arena will be good for the entire region no doubt. One good thing for VB I guess is they have an available site. 

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Keep in mind the light rail and outlet mall collaboration failures happened before Mayors Alexander and Dyer took over. A lot of the old guard was still in place in 2015-16; the current mayors and councils are younger and more diverse, and realize regionalism is the way to go, and that this area is very much behind the times. I think the Chamber's visit to other U.S. cities had a lot to do with them seeing the light.

That said (and I've mentioned this a million times), having VB on board is critical. should this project depend on a hotel tax for funding. The taxes from the Strip alone would be clutch.

If only there were a way to place the arena between two of the three cities. :P

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Apparently the state General Assembly is considering approving sports betting in the Commonwealth, which could pave the way for a major league team and a new venue. All signs are pointing towards the Redskins, which would likely end up somewhere in Northern Virginia, but I wonder if it could play into the proposed arena down here.

https://www.legalsportsreport.com/37844/virginia-sports-betting-bill-changes/

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The arena makes a lot of sense in pretty much any area of Norfolk before being in any other city in the area.  It's just a no brainer

On 2/11/2020 at 10:00 AM, carolinaboy said:

Because VA Beach already squandered their opportunity. Because VA Beach wouldn't help the region by extending light rail. Because VA Beach is very myopic. Because VA Beach tried to prevent the outlet mall and it's not even in their borders.

:tw_grimace:

Edited by ONCE1stBlvd
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  • 6 months later...
On 8/23/2020 at 2:27 AM, Virginia City said:

This is needed now more than ever. I just found out that the Richmond Coliseum has been closed permanently as of the end of 2019. It amazes me that a city and metro area the size of RVA can close the cities only arena w/o having a replacement at least in the works. 

It looks like it was a part of a redevelopment of the area that would have included a 17500 seat arena, but was voted down for some reason in February. So it will probably have to start over with the plan, whatever it is going forward. I would imagine that an arena would be a part of any new plan. Still, very weird to kill a development like this in a part of Richmond's downtown that would really benefit from the new life.

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  • 3 months later...
On 8/28/2020 at 3:14 AM, urbanlife said:

It looks like it was a part of a redevelopment of the area that would have included a 17500 seat arena, but was voted down for some reason in February. So it will probably have to start over with the plan, whatever it is going forward. I would imagine that an arena would be a part of any new plan. Still, very weird to kill a development like this in a part of Richmond's downtown that would really benefit from the new life.

Henrico County may be picking up from Richmond City's failure with a 17k seat arena.  With so much potential West of Richmond to pick up spectators, I would hope that ours and HR's could coexist.

https://richmondbizsense.com/2020/12/01/breaking-news-arena-anchored-greencity-development-planned-for-henrico-owned-best-products-site/

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18 minutes ago, vdogg said:

There is 0 reason why an arena in HR couldn't coexist with one in Richmond. Richmond is almost 2 hours away.

Exactly.  Earlier opponents kept trying to argue that Richmond did not even need one because DC and HR were so close.  It is absolutely ridiculous to think that metros with around 1.3m and 1.7m should be expected to travel 2 hours away.

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3 hours ago, Icetera said:

Exactly.  Earlier opponents kept trying to argue that Richmond did not even need one because DC and HR were so close.  It is absolutely ridiculous to think that metros with around 1.3m and 1.7m should be expected to travel 2 hours away.

Furthermore, major acts bypass both metros to go to DC, not to mention how many NCAA tournaments both have missed out on hosting. Scope is a dump, the Coliseum is an even bigger one. If I'm Hampton Roads, I don't have time to worry about Richmond, because I want to lure events to my area. And if I'm RVA, then vice versa.

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Problem with Richmond is that I think event organizers just split it between the three metro areas it's in between (Charlottesville JPJ, DC CapitalOne/JiffyLube, HR Coliseum/Scope/VB Amphitheater) and thus our central location kind of hampers our ability to draw big events. Because then they figure Richmond area residents could just drive to one of the other three areas. JPJ is already a well established draw for top artists.

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8 hours ago, BFG said:

Interesting! I always figured being along 95 puts you at a greater advantage than Hampton Roads. I've said for a while that HR needs to offer more incentives to visitors, considering you gotta drive 90 minutes out of the way from 95.

95 definitely puts Richmond ahead in the game because that is basically the NYC corridor that the city is directly connected to. If HSR ever gets done, looking at you President Biden, then Richmond would be right in line for a stop along that heavily populated and money making line.

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This is the map I see often for HSR. Even though we're a spur from the East Coast line, I'd love to see it become a reality. I'd think that Biden, being the Amtrak enthuiast that he is, has some sort of transportation plan in place for this or Amtrak. 

HSR.png

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On 12/2/2020 at 3:21 PM, BFG said:

This is the map I see often for HSR. Even though we're a spur from the East Coast line, I'd love to see it become a reality. I'd think that Biden, being the Amtrak enthuiast that he is, has some sort of transportation plan in place for this or Amtrak.imageproxy.php?img=&key=c71e87a16cbbfd68 

 

I am hoping in general we see some serious investments being made in regional HSR projects throughout the country over the next four years, as well as some major investments in local rail/BRT projects in cities throughout the country because of Biden.

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21 minutes ago, baobabs727 said:

I think Biden is irrelevant to our hopes for light rail expansion locally.

I will not be accepting of BRT.

That's on local officials with trying to expand light rail, with Biden in office, he will be putting someone in charge of transportation that will probably be more willing to green light new rail projects. Norfolk should really be getting its act together and start planning a new light rail line to expand the system. In all seriousness, any light rail system should begin planning its next line when they have a line in construction, so Norfolk should have already been planning what their next phase of light rail should be.

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On 12/6/2020 at 11:36 PM, urbanlife said:

That's on local officials with trying to expand light rail, with Biden in office, he will be putting someone in charge of transportation that will probably be more willing to green light new rail projects. Norfolk should really be getting its act together and start planning a new light rail line to expand the system. In all seriousness, any light rail system should begin planning its next line when they have a line in construction, so Norfolk should have already been planning what their next phase of light rail should be.

Precisely!! I wrote to my councilwoman about this several years ago. I said to her that having to wait 15-20+ years between the completion of the starter line and the next expansion phase service start date would represent a monumental failure in govt leadership and planning. 

Seriously,  it shouldn’t take an entire generation to get something like 12 mis of track down on the ground.  Costs just keep going up and up and up, year by year, as we wait and wait and wait.  And these inordinate  delays might just end up costing us LRT, itself! (BRT:  Just Say “NO!”) 

Realistically, HRT should’ve known within the first 18-30 months of operation (a “trial period” if you will) whether LRT was a “success” or “failure” by certain defined metrics. And in anticipation of that hard data, they should’ve had the 1st expansion phase routes all studied-up and ready to go as soon as the trial period was over.  

Instead, the study for the Westside expansion, alone,  wasn’t released for some 7 years post LRT’s grand opening day!  Of course that study ended up crashing and burning, forcing HRT to start ...all ...over ...again. Too bad they couldn’t have studied both routes simultaneously,  all be it belatedly by that time...in my opinion.
 


 

Edited by baobabs727
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I listened to Cathy Lewis's Hearsay earlier today. She had someone from (I think) HRT to talk about the BRT expansion on the Peninsula, and how action there could take up to ten years. Hopefully we'll see something on the LRT expansion within the next five. It's absolutely insane that they need to keep conducting all these studies. I'd like to not have to go to another city or wait until I'm old and gray to see efficient transportation.

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3 hours ago, BFG said:

I listened to Cathy Lewis's Hearsay earlier today. She had someone from (I think) HRT to talk about the BRT expansion on the Peninsula, and how action there could take up to ten years. Hopefully we'll see something on the LRT expansion within the next five. It's absolutely insane that they need to keep conducting all these studies. I'd like to not have to go to another city or wait until I'm old and gray to see efficient transportation.

IMO It’s gonna need to be Virginia Beach or Chesapeake that builds the next line if we want it any time soon. Obviously VB is unlikely given recent history. So our best hope is a Greenbrier to DT line. If they build that, I think Norfolk could gain momentum for the next spur. 

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  • 4 weeks later...

The city is now reviewing four proposals for the Military Circle site, three of which include an arena component. Pharrell, Bruce Thompson, and Emmitt Smith are each assigned one of the three projects. 

https://www.pilotonline.com/government/local/vp-nw-norfolk-military-circle-redevelopment-rfq-companies-20210105-3fr2mltszngehdm5joejjsfsnm-story.html

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On 1/5/2021 at 4:19 PM, BFG said:

The city is now reviewing four proposals for the Military Circle site, three of which include an arena component. Pharrell, Bruce Thompson, and Emmitt Smith are each assigned one of the three projects. 

https://www.pilotonline.com/government/local/vp-nw-norfolk-military-circle-redevelopment-rfq-companies-20210105-3fr2mltszngehdm5joejjsfsnm-story.html

I know its a super long shot, but it sounds like the NBA is looking to expand two teams, one will obviously go to Seattle. Now all Norfolk needs is someone with $2.5 billion that can buy a team.

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The more I think about it, the more I think, regardless of who wins the Military Circle project, Bruce Thompson, Emmitt Smith, and Pharrell need to put together an ownership group of investors for "NBA Virginia". Since the NBA is not allowing fans into arenas, you have a modern venue at The Ted. Convince the NBA to let them play there for at least a year or two, depending on the vaccine, while they build the arena. And even though this hypothetical team would play in Hampton Roads, get some heavy hitters from Richmond and beyond to invest, too. This is Virginia's team!

After Something in the Water took off, Gayle King interviewed Pharrell, and he mentioned trying to get NCAA tournaments and businesses here. I can only hope his people have the NBA on standby too. This area has been on the league's radar for 20 years, but because they didn't have the right venue, they passed on us. Every year, during the Finals, ESPN puts out the Top 10 Nielsen markets; HR and/or RVA always make the list.

You all know how passionate I am about this area getting pro sports, and I could just be running on adrenaline, but for some reason, this one feels a little different.

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