Convention Center Update/Criticism/Debate

My take:

On tailgating, the portions of the Hill being consumed are not (really) in use now and I like the thought of our preging pregaming edging closer and closer to Apogee itself, hugging it if you will.

Like someone else mentioned, the hotel makes for super ease for out of town game attendees.

On the size or need of the convention center, I know of three conventions within the last two years who have expressed a want to be in Denton and one that tried for the campus, but none of it working out. There is to some point, an expressed need there.

What I really hope this sort of project does is serve as a catalyst to redevelop the area on Ave C between Eagle Dr and 35E; specifically, as outlined optimistically in the 2013 UNT Master Plan.

On te monies, a few clarifications need to be made:

UNT profits by leasing the property.

City and County profit by making it a Tax Reinvestment Zone and from residual convention center sales tax - though I agree with Roden that their purported figures will be waaaayyy less than reality.

In years and periods where the profitability is in question, O'Reilly management has willingly put it into the contract that they will pick up any losses.

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Like everyone has pretty much said, there's a lot of discussion still needed, but I think the pros are worth it.

Edited July 9, 2014 by Christopher Walker

Dude, I want to go to your tailgate.

Hahaha.

Can we just tear down Sack n Save and put it there. That place is an eye sore and needs to go.

Classic "I don't like it because it affects me negatively" in this thread.

I would hope that the Hotel and convention center are architecturally compatible with Apogee and there are walkways, gates, and landscaping to incorporate the area into a combined facility feel. I actually feel quite confident this is the case.

And on the "I like it because of the way it affects me" side of things, I can't wait to use the hotel on game nights so the tailgate can continue without the necessity of a designated driver.

The hotel and it's proximity to the stadium, athletic center and campus is key. Why do Universities put so much investment in athletics? To reconnect with their alumni. Right now we have a mix mash of small hotels and motels spread all around the campus. This one would be smack dab in the middle of it. I think it would benefit a lot of the out of town fans but also folks from in DFW who don't want to pack up and drive home right after the game is over. My guess is if they price it right that hotel would be sold out during the Fall for years.

The other point that the Denton tourism rep stated is that Denton is too big a city not to have convention facilities. They quoted the Peterbilt representative who said how nice it would be for them to have convention capability in the town they are headquartered in. How many other employers would consider relocating to Denton if this facility were in place?

We will miss the Hill but honestly, the positives far outweight the negatives here. There are plenty of other places to tailgate around Apogee. I agree with others, it's high time that the eyesores like Sack N Save, concrete city etc go away. The front entrance of UNT is a huge hindrance and not befiitting a college of this scope and size. This project will atrract more projects which will speed up the renovation of the front entrance and the other side of Bonnie Brae.

Having this facility would also help UNT academically. How?

UNT teams up with Sandia National Labs and yearly hosts one of the largest physics conferences in the world. They currently have to find hotel/convention space in Dallas. It would be a big boon to keep an event like this in Denton, in effect on campus.

I know UNT has tried to lure other large academic conferences in the past, and one of the negatives against it has been the lack of hotel/convention space.

College of Ed hosts large teacher education events, and other college hold large training events, that could also be kept in Denton with a facility like this.

Having this facility would also help UNT academically. How?

UNT teams up with Sandia National Labs and yearly hosts one of the largest physics conferences in the world. They currently have to find hotel/convention space in Dallas. It would be a big boon to keep an event like this in Denton, in effect on campus.

I know UNT has tried to lure other large academic conferences in the past, and one of the negatives against it has been the lack of hotel/convention space.

College of Ed hosts large teacher education events, and other college hold large training events, that could also be kept in Denton with a facility like this.

Not to mention the internship and full and part-time jobs for Hospitality Management students/grads.

Beat me to it.

The Convention Center looks like they used an old plan for a Water Works

building...a design that says: Do Not Enter