What Lazos is doing will attract a different type of crowd. Once the entertainment part starts up, it will be centered around live entertainment, whether it be concerts or bars with bands. Right now, there really aren't any places downtown to see live music. I'm not saying that people who now frequent the downtown bars/nightclubs won't head over there from time to time, but they will still continue to hit the places they do now on a regular basis. Also, the Music Factory will not only try to attract folks in the Charlotte area who are looking for good live music, but also from surrounding areas as well. A guy I know who is fairly big in the local music scene told me not long ago that the Music Factory will bring in some fairly well known acts that don't normally stop in Charlotte due to there not being a venue for them - our venues are either too big or too small. For example, until this past year, Coldplay wouldn't stop in Charlotte because they only played 5,000 seat venues. The ampi-theathers that Lazos is building would accomodate those acts and there are lots of bands similar to that out there. This thing could be huge if and when it gets going. If it does, the end result will probably be that the Music Factory will be the place where mostly "out of towners" go and downtown will be where the "locals" hang out.
