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Amusement Park Proposed for Libertyland site

Rardy

By Rardy
in Memphis

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watnow1425 Whistle-Stop

watnow1425

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Goodness, I wasn't suggesting we clear out all the old relics, but the reality is some old buildings have enough value to be renovated while others may not. I think the Liberty Bowl is still a fine stadium and can be even better with some renovation (better seats, better markings, upgraded concessions and restrooms, etc). The Coliseum was a fine place for basketball and hockey, but having an 11,000 seat secondary arena in a small market just doesn't make financial sense if it's rarely used. If the RiverKings and Xplorers used the Coliseum 40-50 nights a year, I'd probably have a different take, but the upkeep on a facility that large which is rarely used isn't practical. The DeSoto Center is a fine venue for smaller concerts which come to the area.

As for the Mid South Fair, it's a two-week event, so it wouldn't totally ruin Shelby Farms for the other 50 weeks of the year. If all else fails, the fair could be moved to the USA Stadium facility in Millington which ably hosts the International Goat Days Festival (an interesting sight to behold if you've never been... ). Easy access by car and lots of room for the various venues.

Hey, I want to see our older buildings such as 100 N Main, Sears Crosstown, and especially Sterick renovated as much as the rest of you, but those are some high-$$$ projects and the right developer will only take on those projects at the right time. Unless the economy here spikes upward for a sustained period and condo, hotel, and Class A office space end up in very short supply, those three projects are very long-run issues.

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Clobber Burg

Clobber

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C'mon Psalm...it's 3 Flags over Orange Mound! The other three were stolen...

Seriously though, the idea of an amusement park in Midtown needs to go away. Remove the Coliseum, move the fair to Shelby Farms, fix the Liberty Bowl, and convert the remaining land something along the line of residential, retail, educational...anything but an amusement park. There's a lot of room between Early Maxwell and East Parkway, so why not develop residential with a retail buffer for the stadium on the Early Maxwell (east) side? There's also plenty of room on the north side to redevelop and expand Fairview JH. This would be a good complement for Cooper-Young and surrounding neighborhoods.

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Rardy Burg

Rardy

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I think many of us just want something bigger, more significant, perhaps at a different location. I'd love to see a major themepark along I40 somewhere either in Shelby or next door on the way to Jackson. Something to pull West TN toward Memphis even more, something significant enough to at least start to balance out Tunica and downtown.
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tombarnes City

tombarnes

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It may also be that Astroworld was getting a bit long in the tooth. Is it necessarily a question of not being able to support an amusement park? I think that the Memphis area could support a very large amusement park- preferably in Tunica or DeSoto County.

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Rardy Burg

Rardy

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It may also be that Astroworld was getting a bit long in the tooth. Is it necessarily a question of not being able to support an amusement park? I think that the Memphis area could support a very large amusement park- preferably in Tunica or DeSoto County.
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tombarnes City

tombarnes

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AstroWorld was getting old and tired. I see no reason why a large amusement park would not work in Houston. There is certainly a large population base in East Texas, so it stands to reason that there would eventually be a replacement park- somewhere- for AstroWorld.

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Rardy Burg

Rardy

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AstroWorld was getting old and tired. I see no reason why a large amusement park would not work in Houston. There is certainly a large population base in East Texas, so it stands to reason that there would eventually be a replacement park- somewhere- for AstroWorld.
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Rardy Burg

Rardy

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Joyland Inc. has signed a letter of intent to build the amusement park. Their plans are contingent, though, on being able to buy the Zippin Pippin, whose current owners say is for sale.

"He said the 'quality, the atmosphere' of the park would exceed that of Libertyland, which Mid-South Fair officials closed last year after attendance and financial struggles. He said the park would employ about 500 part-time and 30 full-time workers," from today's CA.

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memphis born Whistle-Stop

memphis born

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I'm not sure that's bad news. "Joyland" did not sound like a worthwhile proposal anyways. I'd rather there be no amusement park and instead some sort of redevelopment than an amusement park proposal that would be lucky to even be in Libertyland's (immediately prior to closing) class. Libertyland was on the decline, and in my opinion, the Joyland looks like a downgrade from that. The site has so much potential and great location--I have few fears that something positive will be done with it soon.
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Rardy Burg

Rardy

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An article in today's CA says that some members of the council want the city of Memphis to spend $500,000 to bring the Libertyland site back up to where it can be developed by the Joyland group. According to Mulroy, the city would make the money back within 5 years, and after that be in the black. Without the 500k, the city will probably make nothing and the site will continue to fall apart...

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memville Unincorporated Area

memville

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we dont need to spend any money on Liberty Land. It will neer prosper, in that location. Familys dont feel safe going there. If we are going to spend money on an amusement park then it needs to be in a safe location with the potential for growth.

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bluff2085 Hamlet

bluff2085

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This city seems to have a preoccupation with keeping things around that have outlived their usefulness: The Coliseum, Libertyland, Liberty Bowl, Sterick Bldg.

All should be bulldozed or demolished or something. There is no point in keeping any of these relics of the past around imo. Older people try to maintain that these places are still viable but the truth is they aren't and never will be again. accept it

:thumbsup:

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