BFG

That’s a waste of prime real estate.

The tall building in the background is Dominion Enterprises. I’m guessing the one in the foreground is Harbor Heights. In another couple years they’d stay on the Wells Fargo tower. What would it take to get more cranes in the ground? Even with just two buildings under construction downtown had more construction activity than it does now.

I feel like a lotta that applies to HR too. Although we offer a little more with downtown Norfolk and the beaches, when I worked in news I saw several employees come to the area as a stepping stone to a Top 10 market like DC or San Francisco. I almost did the former but I’ve grown to love the area more.

Someone mentioned it upthread but it looks like they will indeed shoot a bit in Hampton Roads as well. According to WTKR it’ll be shot in VB in 1977…would be hard to create a beach in RVA or ATL. https://www.instagram.com/reel/C5Y195yutGr/?igsh=MWJuc3R5bjZubjRmaQ==

I follow Councilwoman McClellan on Facebook. She seemed blindsided by all this, and the reactions in the comments go back and forth between "we need a new arena" or "upgrade Scope because it should be saved" (most agree the former is more ideal, albeit pricey). When I asked her about the 2017-18 plans to gut the place and start fresh, she made it seem like they're exploring all options and to me her response implied they want to do more than what was proposed a few weeks ago, depending on the budget.

Richmond’s film industry is much stronger than ours. They’ve gotten a few major projects thanks to their film office. A few years ago, I was an extra on the show “Homeland” which filmed not far from RIR so none of that surprises me.

I really want that to be a wake up call for Norfolk but I’m not holding my breath. Excellent for Portsmouth.

Congrats on VCU! It’s a great school and I love their downtown campus. My fiancée and I went to to DC for NYE weekend and on the way back had lunch in Richmond. They have a nice downtown but I couldn’t help but notice that it didn’t seem very active. New Year’s Day was a Monday so maybe people were still hungover, but I think Granby seems busier by comparison. I wanna go back though…it was also pretty gloomy that day.

https://www.pilotonline.com/2024/04/02/ajr-cancels-norfolk-show-on-day-of-concert-says-scope-is-too-small/ Indie band AJR cancels its show the day off because Scope is too small. (rant deleted) Looking around, this may be a copout on their end but Norfolk still needs to figure out a game plan for Scope and maybe a new arena.

Shame it's a prank. Would've been the most progressive traffic idea this area's ever had...

That made me raise an eyebrow too. When the story was first announced a few years ago, he said he really wanted to set it here. I know Richmond gets a lotta film and TV productions and from what I understand being off 95 is one reason. But I can't see Pharrell not shooting at least one scene down here for the very reasons you mentioned.

Hate thinking like this, but this would be a great time for the city to step its game up downtown.

10 years is a very generous estimate. Even when I was in high school Pembroke was a ghost town and you either went to Lynnhaven, MacArthur, or Greenbrier. That was 25 years ago. Target and maybe Old Navy were really the only thing Pembroke had to offer in the last decade. The Kelly's there was cool with the upper balcony. I think it was originally Annabelle's.

Interesting. For $300M (or less), I say consider the arena instead and let Dollar Tree kick in a little more for naming rights. I think you could still get 14-16K seats for that price, with more coming from naming rights. The city's concern is the lack of a venue for events like graduations and the arts, and an arena would at least allow for the former. Maybe still include a small theater and exhibition space. In the meantime, work on bringing light rail to Greenbrier...

If Summit Pointe announces an arena somewhere in Greenbrier, I'm gonna lose it...........

The numbers for February came in much quicker: 298K for the month, 602K for the year. Up 12% from the first two months of last year. https://www.norfolkairport.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Februrary-2024-Media-Release.pdf

WAVY explains everything in detail. I realize the city should've been more transparent during the Military Circle process, but I still hate that the Pilot caused that deal to fall through with their reporting. Yes they did their job as journalists, but they also have a habit of throwing a wrench in any major project for this area. I don't hate the proposal and I get that arenas are expensive, but the powers that be make this seem like a game changer that will get us bigger events and I don't see that happening.

I skimmed through the presentation, but from what I noticed: Chrysler Hall: Improved seating, but it looks like they would lose about 150 seats Renovated lobby More loading docks (four total?) Roughly a three-year process with the grand re-opening happening in October 2027 Scope: More seats added at floor level (ADA-compliant) Filling in the "corners" of the upper bowl with additional seats; this plus the floor level seating would add 1,000 seats Moving the stage 180 degrees to allow easier loading for shows Revisiting a 2016 idea that would allow a glass concourse to be expanded to the pillars; this could jeopardize any historic tax credits An enhanced outdoor plaza for both. The Scope option was the easiest they could do without lowering the floor or raising the roof, which would be cost prohibitive. Moseley Architects is looking into adding extra seats above the upper bowl, but hadn't completed its research. That option could potentially add 2,000 more seats, in addition to the 1,000 from above. It's not my money to spend, but I think they should consider at least lowering the floor slightly to get another 1,000 seats. I just don't think it's worth spending millions to barely get 13K seats. Councilman Smiegel had a similar concern about spending tax dollars for minimal upgrades. EDIT: I’m surprised the city hasn’t considered naming rights. It wouldn’t be much, but I imagine they could work out a deal with Dollar Tree for $10-20M to offset the costs.

The Chrysler/Scope conversation starts at about the 1 hour, 6 minute mark. Right now none of the designs are concrete.

Military housing stipend drives up the rent here too. But again, for downtown that seems pretty reasonable for new construction.

The MEAC Tournament's staying in town for at least another three years. As a former MEAC alum (Go Pirates!) I think this is great news, even though several schools like HU have left. The tourney consistently ranks close to the Top 10 in NCAA conference tourney attendance, and outdid several conferences like C-USA, the Sun Belt, and the WAC. All the more incentive to make some upgrades to the Scope. If they could upgrade the place to get the NCAA opening rounds, that would be awesome. Norfolk has done a great job as the home of the MEAC, with both the games and events downtown. https://www.pilotonline.com/2024/03/12/meac-basketball-tournaments-will-stay-in-norfolk-through-at-least-2027/

Agreed. If you’re not building a new arena anytime soon, you need to do as much as you can with Scope. Add as many seats as possible, and more importantly a comfortable, modern experience where you don’t feel cramped. Don’t half-tail this project by putting lipstick on a pig. I haven’t been to Chrysler Hall in years, so I can’t speak on that one. Is it really as outdated as Scope?

I did find an old blog post from 2013 that outlined what the city wanted to do during a planned renovation. This is something I think needs to happen: A new expanded glass concourse extending to the legs of the building that would wrap around the circumference of the structure. This would allow for more space and bring much better food and beverage options. I think expanding the concourse gives the architects more leeway to expand the bowl and add a few more seats. They should aim for at least 13,000-14,000.

Looks like it's the preliminary meeting at 3:30, but I believe that'll air on the Norfolk Youtube channel.

Honestly, that’s not terrible for a downtown apartment. Still a bit too rich for my blood. Especially when you consider downtown still doesn’t have a grocery store within walking distance.