William Matt
It is my pledge to always seek justice on behalf of the City of Lansing. As your neighbor, I will work diligently to find responsible solutions to our challenges, and lead with a vision guided by a hope of an ever-better city.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
All the world's a stage.
Yes, a play on words as Mayor Bernero unveiled his plans for a new permanent stage on the South end of Adado Riverfront Park. (LSJ LINK) It has certainly drawn some attention as almost 40 comments are posted to this story! The plan was to go to the Parks Board tonight at 7:00 PM (Another LINK).
Having worked for LEPFA, the managing authority of the Lansing Center, Oldsmobile Park, and Common Ground, for 3 years, and as Director of the Great Lakes Folk Festival, I may have a unique perspective on this foray.
I am definitely a pro-cultural/entertainment events-minded person that believes these tools are a magnet to the Creative Class and a major economic tool. I generally support these types of concepts. There was some talk a couple years ago about East Lansing installing a permanent stage in Valley Court Park where our GLFF Main Stage is set up. We were of course thrilled with the idea, as I am sure Eric Hart at LEPFA is with this project. The less equipment we needed to rent and install on a tight timeline the better! Alas, that project as an early proposal to the Cool Cities grants was not awarded to East Lansing.
For some reason, I am still just a bit skeptical of this one though. Maybe the price tag of 1.7 million is too high. Maybe the payoff of $40,000 to rent the stage for Common Ground is not high enough to make paying this back worthwhile. 1.7m / 40k = 42.5 years. I have concerns that the stage will have too many holes in the schedule and will sit empty half the summer.
I do know that there will be many other users of this venue such as the Arts Council and summer theatre groups, and once installed a summer concert series is not only viable but necessary. LEPFA will need to step it up and really book and promote some top national acts. LEPFA food and beverage can corner the market for sales and make some money on that angle. The promoters will need to cover some diverse groups and include rock, hip hop, oldies, country and even dare I say, world music.
As yet another tool in downtown revitalization, I really applaud the effort. This has been one great year of major development announcement after another. Soon....well, maybe in ten years, downtown will be packed with a vibrant and youthful nightlife, and full during the day of sophisticted cultural tourists. I'm looking forward to it!
Having worked for LEPFA, the managing authority of the Lansing Center, Oldsmobile Park, and Common Ground, for 3 years, and as Director of the Great Lakes Folk Festival, I may have a unique perspective on this foray.
I am definitely a pro-cultural/entertainment events-minded person that believes these tools are a magnet to the Creative Class and a major economic tool. I generally support these types of concepts. There was some talk a couple years ago about East Lansing installing a permanent stage in Valley Court Park where our GLFF Main Stage is set up. We were of course thrilled with the idea, as I am sure Eric Hart at LEPFA is with this project. The less equipment we needed to rent and install on a tight timeline the better! Alas, that project as an early proposal to the Cool Cities grants was not awarded to East Lansing.
For some reason, I am still just a bit skeptical of this one though. Maybe the price tag of 1.7 million is too high. Maybe the payoff of $40,000 to rent the stage for Common Ground is not high enough to make paying this back worthwhile. 1.7m / 40k = 42.5 years. I have concerns that the stage will have too many holes in the schedule and will sit empty half the summer.
I do know that there will be many other users of this venue such as the Arts Council and summer theatre groups, and once installed a summer concert series is not only viable but necessary. LEPFA will need to step it up and really book and promote some top national acts. LEPFA food and beverage can corner the market for sales and make some money on that angle. The promoters will need to cover some diverse groups and include rock, hip hop, oldies, country and even dare I say, world music.
As yet another tool in downtown revitalization, I really applaud the effort. This has been one great year of major development announcement after another. Soon....well, maybe in ten years, downtown will be packed with a vibrant and youthful nightlife, and full during the day of sophisticted cultural tourists. I'm looking forward to it!
Labels: Bill Matt, lansing, Lansing Center, LEPFA
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