4 AUGUST 19-25, 2015
WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM
Well, I must
admit I appreciate
City Manager Ted
Voorhees pursuing
a downtown
baseball stadium. A
project, if it comes
to fruition, that
could actually unite
our community
rather than divide
it. Unfortunately,
he and city staff
cannot resist
the bureaucratic
temptation to
spend taxpayer
money needlessly
and foolishly.
Agreed, due
diligence must be
done on a project
that could cost
as much as $50
million. However,
gallivanting off at taxpayers' expense to Sugarland,
Texas, near Houston, to tour a minor league baseball
stadium seems a bit excessive, no? Especially when
they can tour a half dozen comparable stadiums within
a few short hours from Fayetteville. Go figure.
When I inquired about this to two city hall insiders,
both replied the same way: They said city staff feel
compelled to spend their budgeted travel allowance.
Bureaucrats! This scenario becomes even more
ridiculous when you consider that the ballpark in
Sugarland sits on the southwest side of Houston,
Texas, which has a population of a whopping 2.2
million people. Sugarland's sales tax, by the way, is
8.25 percent with a hotel occupancy tax of around 13
percent. Not to mention that the cost of building their
stadium was $37 million in 2011. In 2016, this project
would probably come in at $45-$50 million. All this
being known, it begs
the question: Why
travel to Houston?
Yes, a baseball
park in downtown
Fayetteville does
have potential–
within reason. We
must approach this
reasonably and we
must eliminate the
silliness such as
the editorial that
was recently in the
Fayetteville Observer
written by Tim White.
This August 16
editorial shows how
grossly out of touch
we are when it comes
to being reasonable
about such things.
Ignoring our own
history seems to be
our local pastime.
Someone needs to inform the Fayetteville Observer,
Tim White, Ted Voorhees and Rochelle Small-Toney
that "Build it and they will come" is only a fictional
phrase from Kevin Costner's movie Field of Dreams.
Baseball players do not really enter and exit cornfields.
Nor do corporations, businesses and fans follow and
support multi million-dollar stadiums. Really.
I love baseball, and as much as I would love to see
a baseball stadium in downtown Fayetteville, I think
we need to slow down and think this one out, in the
meantime, let's support the local sports teams we have.
Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.
PUBLISHER'S PEN
Downtown Stadium? City of Fayetteville Plays
Fantasy Baseball
by BILL BOWMAN
BILL BOWMAN, Publisher, UP & COM-
ING WEEKLY. COMMENTS? Editor@upand-
comingweekly.com. 910.484.6200.
2015 Best of Fayetteville
Special Edition • Coming Sept. 16, 2015
ATTENTION LOCAL BUSINESSES...NEED CUSTOMERS?
Advertise & promote your business all year long effectively and affordably!
UP & COMING WEEKLY'S
Advertise, market and promote your business in the
most popular, most read edition of the year!
RESERVE YOUR SPACE TODAY!
For more information, rates and deadlines call (910) 484-6200
UP
&
COM
I
NG
W
EEKLY
'S
STAFF
PUBLISHER
Bill Bowman
Bill@upandcomingweekly.com
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER
Janice Burton
editor@upandcomingweekly.com
EDITOR
Stephanie Crider
stephanie@upandcomingweekly.com
ART DIRECTOR/GRAPHIC ARTIST
Sara Smith
art@upandcomingweekly.com
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
D.G. Martin, Pitt Dickey,
Margaret Dickson, John Hood,
Erinn Crider, Jim Jones,
Shanessa Fenner, Heather Griffiths
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
Karla Allen
karla@womensview.com
DISTRIBUTION MANAGER/
Laurel Handforth
laurel@upandcomingweekly.com
ACCOUNTING
Paulette Naylor
accounting@upandcomingweekly.com
MARKETING/SALES
Kristy Sykes
kristy@upandcomingweekly.com
Linda McAlister Brown
linda@upandcomingweekly.com
Beverly Pone
beverlypone@upandcomingweekly.com
––––––––––
Up & Coming Weekly
www.upandcomingweekly.com
208 Rowan Street
P.O. Box 53461
Fayetteville, NC 28305
PHONE: (910) 484-6200
FAX: (910) 484-9218
Up & Coming Weekly is a "Quality of Life"
publication with local features, news and infor-
mation on what's happening in and around the
Fayetteville/Cumberland County community.
Up & Coming Weekly is published weekly on
Wednesdays. Up & Coming Weekly welcomes
manuscripts, photographs and artwork for
publication consideration, but assumes no
responsibility for them. We cannot accept
responsibility for the return of unsolicited
manuscripts or material. Opinions expressed
by contributors do not necessarily reflect the
views of the publisher. The publisher reserves
the right to edit or reject copy submitted for
publication. Up & Coming Weekly is free of
charge and distributed at indoor and outdoor
locations throughout Fayetteville, Fort Bragg,
Pope Air Force Base, Hope Mills and Spring
Lake. ©2007 by F&B Publications, Inc.
All rights reserved. Reproduction or use
of editorial or advertisements without
permission is strictly prohibited.
Is a ballpark in downtown Fayetteville a good idea?
