Convention Center

[betts]

I'm not sure I said the arena was an embarrassment, although I remember saying the video screens and scoreboard were an embarrassment. But, it was certainly bare bones. It may actually be lucky that it was bare bones, though, because if we'd spent another $100,000 on it when it was built, we might have spent it in the wrong places to be adequate for an NBA team. Remember. when we built it, we were totally wet behind the ears as regards professional teams. I think the city has learned a lot about what it takes to be the host of a professional team since then, but all the statements that we were building an NBA or NHL ready arena was pie-in-the-sky. At that time, we'd had very little indication that any professional team would seriously consider us as an option for relocation or expansion and I'm not sure we knew that much about how to build an NBA ready arena. I personally thought it was our "Field of Dreams" even if it wasn't very dreamlike.

[Rover]

Gosh, it seems that as badly as we screwed up the arena we sure did "luck out" and end up with an NBA team. So, the Maps was mishandled, the city messed it up, we got a crappy arena, the power brokers ran over the citizens.....and yet....we got the NBA team. I hope we keep screwing it up.