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May 12, 2006

An arena downtown?

That's one of several pieces proposed by consultants to revitalize High Point's downtown.

Most of the other suggestions seem to make sense. Limit showrooms to specific districts. Encourage mixed-use development in other areas of downtown. Make transportation improvements such as sidewalks.

The one that jumps out at me as likely for debate is the arena and convention center. The idea would be for High Point University basketball to call the arena home, surely among other groups as well, and have a capacity between 6,000 and 12,000. It's an interesting. Presumably a downtown arena would be good for High Point if it had a regular draw, but I admit to not knowing how well attended HPU sporting events are. I also wonder if taking arenas off campus doesn't hurt the interest of college kids in attending events. I know we've got a couple of HPU alums who are regular readers here, and I'd be curious to hear their thoughts.

The convention piece is interesting too. If High Point could do a solid convention business, that might spur more downtown hotel growth. And that's one of the most consistant complaints I heard at the spring and fall furniture markets: there aren't enough places to stay downtown.

But attracting conventions isn't an easy thing to do when there are so many places to chose from. A Brookings Institution study last year called the business an "arms race" as the amount of convention center space is growing rapidly, while the actual attendance at conventions hovers around the same level it did in 1993.

Posted by Jonathan Jones at May 12, 2006 11:14 AM