Riverfront Legacy Masterplan

[Kung Wu]

I know what to do!!

Let's get NASA to donate the old engines off the shuttered space shuttles, have the kids from WSU's NIAR program mount them to the bottom of Century II, and blast that UFO right into orbit! Talk about getting international attention for our little ol' city!!

Now say "shuttered space shuttles" out loud 10 times really fast!

[Cdizzle]

I know what to do!!

Let's get NASA to donate the old engines off the shuttered space shuttles, have the kids from WSU's NIAR program mount them to the bottom of Century II, and blast that UFO right into orbit! Talk about getting international attention for our little ol' city!!

Now say "shuttered space shuttles" out loud 10 times really fast!

Those engines are already scheduled to be wasted on Congress' current space boondoggle, SLS.

[NCAABound]

I know what to do!!

Let's get NASA to donate the old engines off the shuttered space shuttles, have the kids from WSU's NIAR program mount them to the bottom of Century II, and blast that UFO right into orbit! Talk about getting international attention for our little ol' city!!

Now say "shuttered space shuttles" out loud 10 times really fast!

Those engines are old and useless. I'm sure some Wichitans have a petition going to save them.

[Cdizzle]

Those engines are old and useless. I'm sure some Wichitans have a petition going to save them.

Yeah, that's actually false. You're not really helping the narrative of unnecessarily shitting on people.

[shocktown]

Lighten up Francis!

[Kung Wu]

Those engines are already scheduled to be wasted on Congress' current space boondoggle, SLS.

Buzz kill. (And no I don't mean Aldrin or Lightyear).

[ShockBand]

I know what to do!!

Let's get NASA to donate the old engines off the shuttered space shuttles, have the kids from WSU's NIAR program mount them to the bottom of Century II, and blast that UFO right into orbit! Talk about getting international attention for our little ol' city!!

Now say "shuttered space shuttles" out loud 10 times really fast!

And then as it flys out, we can shoot it down!

[ABC]

The estimated ROI on new conventions should easily attainable. I doubt it will overall be positive, but that doesn't mean Wichita shouldn't do this, if Wichitans are willing to pay it.

I know all of the anecdotal stuff about young professionals and quality of life, but there is little data to back it up. People move and/or stay were there are economic opportunities, not social opportunities.

Again, it doesn't mean it shouldn't move forward, but those approving the plan and those voting for a tax increase to pay for it should be wide eyed about it. It will won't do much, if anything, for economic growth. Conventions simply do little, or nothing, for economic growth. Of course having more conventions can be "good."

What is the estimated tax increase? Will it be sales tax and/or property tax?

And I agree Century II has out lived is useful life.

[Kung Wu]

And then as it flys out, we can shoot it down!

hahahaha .... even cooler!

[Bluzrover]

I haven’t lived in Wichita for 35 years but have to admit it would be strange to drive east on Kellogg, get downtown and not see Century II. But I would also be remiss if I didn’t also mention how impressed I was to attend my first game at IBA. Progress is hard...and expensive. But it’s time.

[ShockerFever]

I swear there are some people that wish they could just snapshot Wichita in the 1890's and just keep it the same. I wonder how many "nostalgic" venues in this country have been razed or torn down for better and more modern development? If we have to save every building ever created in Wichita, then we might as well just put a bubble around the entire city and call it a day.

[Awesome Sauce Malone]

I swear there are some people that wish they could just snapshot Wichita in the 1890's and just keep it the same. I wonder how many "nostalgic" venues in this country have been razed or torn down for better and more modern development? If we have to save every building ever created in Wichita, then we might as well just put a bubble around the entire city and call it a day.

We do need to preserve what we can of Historical Wichita but the cost of doing so is insane. There's a big difference in tearing down Meads Corner versus Century II though. From past comments, you and I definitely agree that these projects tend to be short-sighted so what is planned versus what is built leaves a lot to be desired. I wasn't there at the reveal but friends who were have said that the Kaufman Center in KC was talked about quite a bit as inspiration. So we'll see how that plays out.

My personal circle of < 40 crew all seem to be on board and are looking forward to it. If anything, it's nice to see some action which Wichita has largely lacked.

[Cdizzle]

I swear there are some people that wish they could just snapshot Wichita in the 1890's and just keep it the same. I wonder how many "nostalgic" venues in this country have been razed or torn down for better and more modern development? If we have to save every building ever created in Wichita, then we might as well just put a bubble around the entire city and call it a day.

Maybe so. But there don't seem to be any in here and people are still going nuts about it. I find it difficult to have rational discussions with people on these topics about actual merits.

[ShockBand]

Would it be worth it to put up a one cent sales tax for 10-15 years to pay for the projects? This is the approach that OKC has taken. They have continually voted to renew their MAPS sales tax.

I just looked, and it is really eye opening how different the breakdown of sales tax in OKC is compared to here. In Wichita, we pay 6.5% to the state and 1% to the county. In OKC, 4.5% is to the state and county, and then a grand total of 4.125% is to the city. From what I've read, the current "MAPS" is the penny they have targeted as their "temporary streets tax". That breaks down further as shown below. It is interesting how different the approach is there vs. here.

[Rocky Mountain Shock]

I'm in the hotel business - and we have lost TONS of conventions due to CII and the lack of hotel rooms downtown. The hotel situation is getting better. But CII is a complete disaster. You can't hold an event in Convention Hall while an event is going on in Concert Hall (for example). Having a pie shaped building is not conducive to having events going on simultaneously. Plus Expo Hall is on the small side of having exhibit or large open space. It really is an embarrassment when compared to other cities. But everyone thinks it looks cool so we gotta save it right? It just doesn't work and hasn't for a long-time (if it ever did).

In your opinion--or perhaps you have a factual answer--how many hotel rooms are missing downtown?

Serious question. Not trolling.