wally2169

All hail the new and improved CROTTYDOME Can't wait Anyone know any particular reason why the Magic are being quiet about sites for the new arena? Do they really have an opinion on it that they believe in or are they just waiting for Dyer and Crotty to go on celebrity politician boxing and wait to see who wins before they endorse whatever is there?

Hell, if they build the new arena on I-Drive, we can call them the Orange County Magic We can call it the Beeline or Beachline Center Mayor Crotty can be there to cut the ribbon on opening day Yes fellas, oh what a joyous thing it will be if the arena was located on I-Drive Feel like I need a hot scalding shower to scrub the disgust off me

Has as much of a chance of being completed as Mobility 20/20 going back on the ballot

Not bad looking at all

To hopefully not change our subjects too drastically, Thursday's Orlando Sentinel reported that the soon to be demise of the Back to the Future ride at Universal is upon us Nothing concrete on what will replace the ride but rumor has it a themed ride based one the Fast and the Furious could possibly be in the works This noteworthy because as I'm sure everyone on this forum is well aware, Back to the Future has been with Universal Studios Florida since day one The end of an era is upon us

What's going on with orlandoskyscrapers.com? Is it being redesigned or something?

True

Hey man, Solaire is way too short and stubby, there's no doubt about that However, look at the bigger picture It adds some great density and will complement everything else going up It's not perfect by far but downtown will be a better place for it For the record, I am also annoyed of the stubbiness just not that annoyed

I couldn't agree more, what a frickin joke Widening I-4 will not bring more sprawl through Orlando, the sprawl is already there, the interstate simply has not been able to keep up with it It's the same logic when going through security screening at the airport: you cannot have a lighter on board but you can have a book of matches (although today's events will hopefully indicate a change on that) I really wish Mobility 20/20 passed 4 general purpose lanes and 2 toll lanes for faster driving in each direction would have been great Wouldn't solve the problem but would helped immensley

Hell of an idea I like it

I apologize, I have not made it much of a point to track this thread much but I have read everything in the past week or so concerning Jeb and his plan but still do have a question or 2 Based on the large sum of money being spent on this project, am I to assume the majority of this money to be spent will be done on building stations at the stops? Will there be a need to build additional rail lines or is it to utilize existing lines only? Based on the fact that CSX trains are being diverted, does anyone know where they're being diverted to?

Blue Rose is beautiful, absolutely beautiful I agree it would not fit downtown based on its sheer size but what a shame Would have been incredible to see this impacting the skyline

Beautiful shot Brings a tear to my eye knowing that this is one of a lot more coming Just beautiful

Swell

Well I certainly hope that lease with the city holds up It'll certainly be quite the kick to the teeth to Crotty if the arena does stay in Orlando I have nothing against the guy, he has the right goals in mind but I will openly admit, the county "mayor" needs just a little more humility thrown in there for size By the way, is he up for re-election anytime soon and if so, does he qualify to run again?

Well exactly what kind of influence can Dyer flex to prevent this from happening? Does he really have any particular incentive he can offer to keep them downtown?

God I hope they go overboard on this one We need something stunning and huge and able to bring out huge amounts of people I'm tired of Orlando being the neglected stepchild of FLA cities, it's our turn now

This is a great idea It would create one hell of a structure I do believe strongly that something new has to be built, whether or not from scratch or adjacent to the old and joining the two One thing is certain, if they choose to just renovate that which is already there, the old arena would have to be completely gutted from the ground up If that's the case, we are looking at about a 2 yr project which will most likely preclude the Magic playing there at all until completed The team will need a temp home to conduct business as ususal My hope is that a brand new arena with a unique design all it's own is built or as in the prior post, build the new one next door and then renovate the old and join them Should be interesting, I hope it goes the right way One thing I will also say, the Citrus Bowl had better look so damn good you could eat off the floor The monster truck shows should require a formal dress code when all is completed

Now, is this tax increase going to allow us to outright build a brand spanking new arena or is the idea of renovating the TD Waterhouse still being floated around out there?

So now that it has passed and the hike goes into effect on Sept 1st, when will they announce the new arena and PAC? Can we now uncork the champagne?

Thanks, I appreciate the kudos Believe it or not, I have some very unique ideas for downtown for future developments that require razing a few areas but sadly to say, since I am not a billionaire developer, it will probably forever remain a fantasy I absolutely love your idea of an arena complex that could include an arena, minor league ballpark and who knows what else Look what they did in JAX, back in 2000 voters approved a 1/2 cent sales tax increase and they got a beautiful new arena, a beautiful new minor league stadium for the JAX Suns, a beautiful new public library and massive upgrades/renovations to Alltell stadium just in time for hosting the SuperBowl All of this is in one cluster in the old JAX shipyards and its awesome I am incredibly jealous for my friends that still live in JAX Amazing isn't it, JAX residents vote FOR a sales tax increase for new arenas to party and hang out in yet Orlando residents vote AGAINST a sales tax increase to 12 lane I-4 for about 30 miles Not to mention the fact Tampa residents voted FOR a sales tax increase for the Bucs to get Raymond James Staidum, and this was BEFORE the team changed logo, BEFORE they got rid of the crappy orange/white uniforms and 2 seasons BEFORE the team started making regular playoff appearances for the 1st time in 20+ years What the hell is wrong with us?!?!?!?!?!?!

At the very least, widening Colonial would be a logistical nightmare, would require acquisition of businesses, tearing them down and having to do something significant with the I-4 interchange Traffic around I-4 at Colonial with the existing arena during an event is bad enough but something like this could trigger some much needed road improvements I think the Sentinel, which is a highy regarded paper in this country, deserves a better facility like you would see for the NY Times or LA Times Why not build a new one in downtown on the west side of I-4? A nice medium height high-rise with "Orlando Sentinel" sprawled across the top would elevate the paper to a new level Let's tear down their old complex, build the new arena, hell maybe have the front face Orange like you would see with FedEx arena in Memphis. Who knows, that kind of thing could lead to geater development possibilities like getting BellSouth to move out of the location by Pizutti as well as the ridiculous high-rise next to Dynetech, let them consolidate to a nice new skyscraper in one location and develop that area of Orange which will emulate Pizutti and the Orange Court Apts that are coming It would also get me to stop beotching about the height issue of 385 N. Orange Just the thought of that gets me hopping To also touch base on a prior post from someone concerning location of PAC, I think putting it in City Commons is the best idea possible This will enable us to get a CNL 3 and will also give some kind of evening activity to City Commons which at the moment does not exist It's a waste of space by City Hall right now and does not deserve to be

Well, here is something bolder: Relocate Orlando Sentinel headquarters between Orange and Rosalind, maybe let them build a high rise on the other side of I-4, maybe the location where the police headquarters are after they vacate, tear that building down and build a 25-30 floor high-rise with a nice plaza and the facilities for printing and shipping the paper in 2-3 floor building behind Then take the land of the old Sentinel buildings, tear them all down and build the new arena there Those couple of blocks is more than enough land to hold both an arena with the front facing the OC Courthouse and then a huge parking garage facing Colonial This would give the arena major visibility in downtown and coincide with the Pizutti and the rest of downtown development I know this is probably impractical but like I said, more than enough land to do it and you cannot put a price tag on that level of exposure

I also agree with you on this as well Short term, I say the new PAC because Bob Carr is so ridiculously outdated that the new PAC will be a curiosity for a considerable period of time As bad as the TD Waterhouse is, it's not as outdated as Bob Carr so it might not have such a huge thunderous impact right away but I do think that once Magic fans grow to love it, more music acts come, more events in general get held in the new arena and more development such as new condos and office space comes along, the new arena will have a huge impact over the long term Perhaps the new Marriott could potentially be built near the new arena, we can start seeing the dividends roll in sooner rather than later But do you think we can really support 2 arenas in town though? Miami has 3 times the population and they're having issues getting bookings at the old Miami Arena, everybody is going to the new one