Venue Tower at the BOB - 20 Monroe Live - House of Blues/Live Nation Venue

[GR_Urbanist]

2 hours ago, wingbert said:

Visit Grand Rapids, we’ve got great hotels where you can stay while you enjoy our great local…. uhhhhh…. other hotels.

It's such a goofy move, it almost hurts my head trying to make sense of it. 3 of our 4 tallest buildings are hotels. There is a hotel next door, one across the river, and two on Monroe Center, and another on Ottawa. Plus on N. Monroe by the 6th St. Bridge!

Maybe they are expecting monster convention business the next few years, because I dont think GR is that darn popular as a tourist spot.

[joeDowntown]

48 minutes ago, GR_Urbanist said:

It's such a goofy move, it almost hurts my head trying to make sense of it. 3 of our 4 tallest buildings are hotels. There is a hotel next door, one across the river, and two on Monroe Center, and another on Ottawa. Plus on N. Monroe by the 6th St. Bridge!

Maybe they are expecting monster convention business the next few years, because I dont think GR is that darn popular as a tourist spot.

The one advantage Amway has in this whole thing, is they know what they're doing with the Charley's Crab / Fulton & Market surface lot. I'm sure they are five steps ahead of us on this one.

Joe

[GRDadof3]

36 minutes ago, joeDowntown said:

The one advantage Amway has in this whole thing, is they know what they're doing with the Charley's Crab / Fulton & Market surface lot. I'm sure they are five steps ahead of us on this one.

Joe

Possibly. Between the downtown amphitheater and what I assume will be quite an entertainment complex going in there (again, assumptions based on the size of the parcel), maybe they think the BOB is past its prime as a bunch of bars. Kind of like Trappers Alley in Greektown. It was cool once too, and was kind of like the BOB before it became the casino. Hopefully a comedy club stays around.  

Another thought is maybe GLC turns 20 Monroe Live into a casino gaming floor with a connected hotel, that they own but AHC manages.  Or maybe they put a bunch of slots and tables in the basement of the BOB. 

[Cookin_peacocks]

1 hour ago, joeDowntown said:

The one advantage Amway has in this whole thing, is they know what they're doing with the Charley's Crab / Fulton & Market surface lot. I'm sure they are five steps ahead of us on this one.

Joe

Dont we know what they're doing with that lot? We've seen those renderings at grand action 2.0... from my understanding, that's what's happening.

[joeDowntown]

1 hour ago, Cookin_peacocks said:

Dont we know what they're doing with that lot? We've seen those renderings at grand action 2.0... from my understanding, that's what's happening.

A am the renderings show the amphitheater on that lot + some tall buildings So I don’t know if we can trust that yet. 

[mgreven]

4 hours ago, joeDowntown said:

The one advantage Amway has in this whole thing, is they know what they're doing with the Charley's Crab / Fulton & Market surface lot. I'm sure they are five steps ahead of us on this one.

Joe

I hope so...seems like such a silly waste when there are so many places and lots to build a hotel.  Maybe this is going to be part of something huge and exciting in that whole area.  I guess I'll just think positively.  =)

[cstonesparty]

5 hours ago, GRDadof3 said:Another thought is maybe GLC turns 20 Monroe Live into a casino gaming floor with a connected hotel, that they own but AHC manages.  Or maybe they put a bunch of slots and tables in the basement of the BOB. 

In the past I’d heard DeVos family opposed casino gaming.  That may have been just Rich DeVos…

[MJLO]

7 hours ago, cstonesparty said:

In the past I’d heard DeVos family opposed casino gaming.  That may have been just Rich DeVos…

They've opposed a lot of things in the past, especially in the 90's and earlier.  They were very typical Calvinists originally, but their positions have modernized quite a bit in the last 25-30 years so who knows. 

[GRDadof3]

9 hours ago, cstonesparty said:

In the past I’d heard DeVos family opposed casino gaming.  That may have been just Rich DeVos…

Peter Secchia and Rich Devos did, and they're both dead now. 

I'm not at all sad to see the BOB go. It had its time. But it was mostly empty, except when the arena was busy. And it was starting to be a hotbed for a bunch of illegal activity. Remember all the hubbub about dress codes and racial profiling? A lot of rumors of date rape drugs at the club upstairs. And then numerous people fell and died in the back stairwell? It had bad vibes toward the end. 

It will be interesting to see what they do. Will they add floors to the top? Will they take off that addition that was put on on the Fulton St side, that hasn't really aged well? Keep the atrium? 

[Prankster]

9 hours ago, cstonesparty said:

In the past I’d heard DeVos family opposed casino gaming.  That may have been just Rich DeVos…

They were opposed because downtown was just starting to gain traction as an entertainment district, and they feared a new casino in the metro area would siphon off the people going downtown. 

[joeDowntown]

1 hour ago, GRDadof3 said:

Peter Secchia and Rich Devos did, and they're both dead now. 

I'm not at all sad to see the BOB go. It had its time. But it was mostly empty, except when the arena was busy. And it was starting to be a hotbed for a bunch of illegal activity. Remember all the hubbub about dress codes and racial profiling? A lot of rumors of date rape drugs at the club upstairs. And then numerous people fell and died in the back stairwell? It had bad vibes toward the end. 

It will be interesting to see what they do. Will they add floors to the top? Will they take off that addition that was put on on the Fulton St side, that hasn't really aged well? Keep the atrium? 

...hopefully get rid of that bad art piece with the portholes that block a bunch of windows.  

Joe

[GRDadof3]

49 minutes ago, joeDowntown said:

...hopefully get rid of that bad art piece with the portholes that block a bunch of windows.  

Joe

Hey, Greg Gilmore's wife did those.

[wingbert]

Maybe hotels make great tax shelters?  I don’t know, that’s not my wheelhouse 

[Pattmost20]

I am fairly certain a Tribal Casino must be on tribal land and I can't see GR willing to annex prime land downtown. Look how long it is taking them to get approval for a casino on a horse track that has been closed for 14+ years.

[egrguy]

If I had the money this place seems like it should house a Lucky Strike/Hampton Social spot and brighten it from its 90s grunge look.

[mgreven]

https://mibiz.com/sections/real-estate-development/comedy-club-dr-grins-set-to-close-amid-pending-sale-of-the-b-o-b?fbclid=IwAR2j5-DQkw7OG5jzSyxJjJBKT_jvCPodmXRnLgt4jLUCfO6hFODA9mcfJtw
 

Hope Dr. Grins find a new location. Maybe a better one. We need a cool comedy club in GR. I always enjoyed (most) of the comedians we saw there. (Usually knew what to expect with the headliner but the opening acts were sometimes…interesting)

So interested to hear the plans…

[joeDowntown]

1 hour ago, mgreven said:

https://mibiz.com/sections/real-estate-development/comedy-club-dr-grins-set-to-close-amid-pending-sale-of-the-b-o-b?fbclid=IwAR2j5-DQkw7OG5jzSyxJjJBKT_jvCPodmXRnLgt4jLUCfO6hFODA9mcfJtw
 

Hope Dr. Grins find a new location. Maybe a better one. We need a cool comedy club in GR. I always enjoyed (most) of the comedians we saw there. (Usually knew what to expect with the headliner but the opening acts were sometimes…interesting)

So interested to hear the plans…

I think the listening room at studio park could make a good comedy club (saw the last act before laugh fest was canceled due to Covid back in whatever year it was. LOL). It was a good venue for comedy. 

[GRDadof3]

57 minutes ago, joeDowntown said:

I think the listening room at studio park could make a good comedy club (saw the last act before laugh fest was canceled due to Covid back in whatever year it was. LOL). It was a good venue for comedy. 

That's a great idea. I too think losing Dr Grins would be a tragedy. Every show I've seen there, even the comedians that sucked, we've had a great time. 

[GrSportsGuy]

2 hours ago, joeDowntown said:

I think the listening room at studio park could make a good comedy club (saw the last act before laugh fest was canceled due to Covid back in whatever year it was. LOL). It was a good venue for comedy. 

While it has hosted comedy shows in the past, the Listening Room isn’t going to forgo music acts to become exclusively a comedy club.

[mgreven]

1 hour ago, GrSportsGuy said:

While it has hosted comedy shows in the past, the Listening Room isn’t going to forgo music acts to become exclusively a comedy club.

Yeah…it should stay primarily a music venue. This could be a great chance for someone to develop a really cool club just for comedy. 

[joeDowntown]

9 hours ago, mgreven said:

Yeah…it should stay primarily a music venue. This could be a great chance for someone to develop a really cool club just for comedy. 

Sorry, wasn’t implying it should be changed. It might be a nice venue to book a comedian now and then (not switch formats). It definitely worked well for the comedian I saw. 

From the article, sounds like the manager needs a trying to keep the comedy club alive. I hope someone puts a comedy club downtown. We always liked Dr. Grins shows. 

Joe

[GRDadof3]

12 hours ago, GrSportsGuy said:

While it has hosted comedy shows in the past, the Listening Room isn’t going to forgo music acts to become exclusively a comedy club.

I reached out to the Loeks and they've apparently already hosted some local comedians and are looking to expand that. It'd be great if they brought in national acts. 

1 hour ago, joeDowntown said:

Sorry, wasn’t implying it should be changed. It might be a nice venue to book a comedian now and then (not switch formats). It definitely worked well for the comedian I saw. 

From the article, sounds like the manager needs a trying to keep the comedy club alive. I hope someone puts a comedy club downtown. We always liked Dr. Grins shows. 

Joe

UICA is empty. lol. But a bit too big for a comedy club. The back room behind Bar Divani is kind of cool, but a bit small. Haven't been in there in about 10 years. 

[Pattmost20]

Listening Room hosted Chris Kattan not too long ago. A very underrated comedy venue is Pyramid Scheme. I saw both Hannibal Buress and Neil Hamburger there. For Neil's show they set out folding chairs and it actually worked pretty well. Hannibal was standing room only as he pulled a huge crowd. 

[mgreven]

56 minutes ago, GRDadof3 said:

 

UICA is empty. lol. But a bit too big for a comedy club. 

That would make for a great entertainment place.  Can you fit a bowling alley, comedy club, arcade and some bars/restaurants in there?  Even already has a theater.

[GRDadof3]

21 minutes ago, Pattmost20 said:

Listening Room hosted Chris Kattan not too long ago. A very underrated comedy venue is Pyramid Scheme. I saw both Hannibal Buress and Neil Hamburger there. For Neil's show they set out folding chairs and it actually worked pretty well. Hannibal was standing room only as he pulled a huge crowd. 

That's true. I co-emceed a Laughfest show there, with Garfunkel and Oats.