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Community Needs to Unite Behind Better Future for Civic Center |
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by Dr. Carl Mumpower
Op-Ed
Asheville Citizen-Times
January 26, 2001
With
the large shoes of a national icon, the NBA came to Asheville last
week. Their representatives carried the promise of cutting edge sports
entertainment, a once in a lifetime opportunity to pioneer a new
basketball league and a commanding incentive to move forward with the
renovation of a much maligned but enduring Asheville Civic Center. In
repeated meetings with city and community leaders, these savvy
promoters brought a stimulating message of competency, creativity and
promise. Theirs was a powerful call for renewed hope and direction for
a civic center that has been too long mired in controversy and
uncertainty.
The NBA brings deep pockets, media connections, a
large resource pool and marketing skills that make a strong case for
success. Their message is dynamic and upbeat. These people mean
business and their connections to SFX Entertainment sweeten the
possibilities. Through SFX, the Civic Center can access performers that
would otherwise travel to other cities. Up to 20 times a year, WNC will
have the opportunity for extra special entertainment moments like those
that graced the Civic Center in earlier years. Perhaps most
importantly, the NBA brings a plan of action that can galvanize
community consensus for a timely and overdue state-of-the-art upgrade
for the Civic Center.
Like all opportunities, this one carries a
risk, considerable risk. First comes the serious compensation that the
NBA will require during the startup years of the league. Our share is
larger than many cities due to the lost revenues the !
NBA anti
cipates
prior to a Civic Center upgrade. That, in itself, is another risk in
that contracts must be signed before renovation options and costs have
been reasonably determined. The devil is in the details, and there is
little time to sift for demons that may come back to haunt us. Then
comes the largest question of all. Can the NBA pull it off? With
falling attendance at their major league events, is the timing for a
minor league effort ideal? Is an eventual 4,500 minimum average
attendance requirement realistic for WNC?
Like all creative
endeavors, clear choices are elusive. In coming weeks our city leaders
will be faced with an agonizing array of details to sort through before
making a final commitment one way or the other. In the interim, as a
community, we can best help by becoming informed and objective
participants in this worthy undertaking. Regardless of the final
course, we can best serve by avoiding the easy extremes of blind
endorsement and cynical negativity. Dwight Eisenhower once noted that
he had no problem with the middle of the road in that this was where
most of the usable surface was found - the danger being in the ditches
on either side. Our patience and support can help the decision-makers
make measured choices on the pros and cons of this difficult
undertaking. Hopefully those decisions will find us comfortably
traveling together on a positive road to success for the Asheville
Civic Center.
If the decision is that we are not ready to
shoulder this opportunity, lets try to resist the comforting but
unproductive temptations of simplistic judgments and personal
criticism. Anyone who is part of this decision will be assuming a
responsibility that will have a major impact on WNC for years to come.
Those are decisions not easily borne, and these folks will merit our
patience and encouragement for their willingness to work on our behalf.
A legacy of debt, shortsi!
ghted de
cisions and failed promise are not the
way anyone wants to carry our Civic Center into the new century. If we
pass and the new league succeeds, the forces that have drawn the NBA to
us will exist just as surely as later, with a renovated facility, as
they do presently.
If the decision is to press forward with this
unique opportunity, lets see if we can fuse a united front in making
that decision work. The Civic Center has an historical tendency to
stimulate wait and see attitudes, turf struggles and adversarial
process. There will be little room for any of these if Asheville and
WNC are going to successfully embrace the demands and opportunities of
the NBA. If the nod is toward yes, then together we can bring our Civic
Center to new life. We can develop a source of community pride that
mirrors the special moments of a gracious past and freshly reflects the
promise of an equally precious future.
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