Destroying Dave Hall Plaza for a Hockey Rink

...though advocates say this will be also a multi-use "event space" and minor league practice rinks.



The most influential Dayton blog (Esrati) and forum (Dayton Most Metro) are for this. You can read the comments yourself by surfing into the links (images are from Esrati). I made a few comments myself, somewhat favorable.





My real feelings on this are "It won't look that good" and "Too bad for Dave Hall Plaza".

I don't think it will be as attractive as the renderings make it out because things get diluted to a certain level of mediocrity, after which the locals play this "Emporers New Cloths" game and say isn't it all so wonderful. So expect all the nice glass walls to turn into concrete or some other solid wall suface (due to budget issues or other reasons). What will happen is that the convention center be repeated, one block north.

And everyone will say Hooray! Downtown is active! Since a rationale for this site is that it would "activate" downtown (and being next to that big parking garage). Maybe, if visitors can get over their fear of the city enough to actually leave the building (aside from travelling to and from the parking garage).

As for Dave Hall Plaza, the rationale is that the green space will be replaced somewhere else downown.

I don't think so.

Dave Hall Plaza has what any new park or open space does not have.

Mature landscaping.

The park was landscaped in 1974, meaning the plantings date back 30 years or so. This what gives the park its charm and makes it a pleasant place for the three outdoor music events staged there every year . Yet its not the landscaping. Its the that there is this play of soft greenery and old highrise architecture around the park, where the park frames and compliments the buildings, which become landscape features themselves.














This landscaping was supposed to be temporary and the park was a form of landbanking. And it looks like the time has come to make a withdrawl from that metaphorical bank. The Price of Progress.

The summer festivals (the reggae festival is in the pix) will either end or relocate. This will be a loss, but maybe only to a relative handfull of people like yer humble host, who likes listening to music and going to festivals, but really likes this on Dave Hall Plaza due to the landscaped green environment contrasted with the surrounding buildings.

Public Finance for the Arena

This is the clincher. If the arena is to be a regional draw the tax base needs to be regional, meaning Greene as well as Montgomery County.

The way to do this is via a public authority like the Conservancy District that transcends county lines. This authority would be given the power to levy taxes, fees, and issue bonds to build and operate the arena. Tax souces would be a hotel tax (as was proposed for the Austin Road arena) or a sales tax (as was done for the Cincinnati sports arenas).