Hampton Roads Off-Topic Talk

[baobabs727]

It was all about taking  a risk and building that arena. Bringing together the major stakeholders and committing public funds. Like the governor said, he was willing to talk about the size and the color and the shape, but basically the building was going in. Period.  End of discussion.  

And this in the face of a 17% public approval for the project.  Can you say guts? Our spineless, vision less wonders (read: our politicians)  around here would never be able to pull this off. 

[BFG]

https://pilotonline.com/inside-business/news/economic-development/familiar-refrain-in-nashville-is-collaborate-don-t-compete/article_296c618a-41a0-5e05-9ce8-3532b96bb57a.html

The headline says it all: cooperate as a region, and stop fighting. Can we bring some of these Nashville people to Hampton Roads? They seem to have a good idea of how to make a similar-sized region grow.

[BFG]

The Pilot's Harry Minium has an interesting proposal: Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Chesapeake work together to build the arena at Military Circle, with the latter two sharing incentives. Hopefully the outlet mall controversy can be a lesson learned on how to handle such an idea better.

https://pilotonline.com/sports/columnist/harry-minium/virginia-beach-chesapeake-and-norfolk-should-combine-to-build-an/article_20841aad-21c2-512a-aa0b-f7eeaad7c595.html

[BFG]

Go Virginia says HR needs a new name that can draw tourists, along with a hospitality program at one of the colleges, and (wait for it) regional collaboration.

When I went to DC, I saw "Visit Norfolk" ads on one of the buses. I've seen commercials telling people to visit Virginia Beach or Colonial Williamsburg. But never an ad for all 3-in-1.

https://pilotonline.com/inside-business/news/economic-development/go-virginia-committee-says-hampton-roads-needs-new-name/article_fd92e722-a088-53a0-bce7-a393bebf1350.html

[zeppelin14]

ODU has a hospitality major already.

[Virginia City]

I hear that HR needs a new name about every 3 or 4 years. The last time several publications started calling the area Coastal Virginia and that didn't stick. It's nothing new and I doubt it happens.  

[baobabs727]

This is about as off-topic as you can get:  so....I realize it's the holidays,  oops, um 15 days ago, but this place is in need of resuscitation. Flatline______________________________

Edited January 15, 2018 by baobabs727

[urbanvb]

I think I made the same comment last January.  

This time of the year seems to be a bit sluggish. Anyone else ready for spring already?

[BFG]

I agree. It's that time of year where seeing a new topic on the board is exciting, no matter what the news is. 

But I think it's slow because of the new year, plus the snow and today being a holiday. I hope it picks up soon...

[BFG]

A local panel agreed regionalism and tourism are keys to putting the area on the map. Also, the age-old discussion of what to call this area came up. Seriously, it looks like someone listened to what Nashville had to say...

https://southsidedaily.com/business/2018/02/01/panel-suggests-ditching-hampton-roads-name-more-regional-teamwork-to-capture-tourism-dollars/

[carolinaboy]

Yeah, neither Tidewater nor Hampton Roads do much for me. Tidewater sounds too red-neck (to me) and Hampton Roads doesn't really pinpoint the place. Hampton? Where is Hampton? How many people actually know where our Hampton is?

 

If there is to be actual "regionalism" maybe a better regional name should be used.

The Colonial Coast has a nice ring (to me). How about Founder's Bay?

I also like the idea of merging areas (seriously). The southside cities should merge (Norfolk, Portsmouth, urban Virginia Beach and urban Chesapeake) and be called "Norfolk". The rural areas can become "Princess Anne County". Suffolk can remain independent.

Hampton and Newport News should merge with Williamsburg and the whole city should be called "Williamsburg".

I think that would be awesome. 2 major cities, Norfolk and Williamsburg on opposite sides of the water. Then the "region" could be called Colonial Coast or Founder's Bay, etc and it would make sense (in modern times).

If Norfolk, VB and Portsmouth were one entity it would instantly become one of the largest cities in the US and would have to be dealt with as such. Same for the other side of the water.

Edited February 2, 2018 by carolinaboy
Added map

[OBXastronaut]

Not a fan of that idea. Just because it doesn't sound good to you (Redneck, really?) doesn't mean it doesn't sound good to the rest of us.

I think Hampton Roads is more than a decent name for the region. It sounds unique. "Coastal Virginia" is as bland as it gets.

If the name is not getting out there, it's probably not because of the name. Y'all said it yourselves. You see ads to visit Norfolk, Williamsburg, Virginia Beach, but not Hampton Roads. Blame that on the advertisements (and respective cities)  themselves instead of the name of the region.

Edited February 2, 2018 by OBXastronaut

[carolinaboy]

13 minutes ago, OBXastronaut said:

Not a fan of that idea. Just because it doesn't sound good to you (Redneck, really?) doesn't mean it doesn't sound good to the rest of us.

I think Hampton Roads is more than a decent name for the region. It sounds unique. "Coastal Virginia" is as bland as it gets.

If the name is not getting out there, it's probably not because of the name. Y'all said it yourselves. You see ads to visit Norfolk, Williamsburg, Virginia Beach, but not Hampton Roads. Blame that on the advertisements (and respective cities)  themselves instead of the name of the region.

My post is just one man's opinion and I stand by it.  You're right though, the individual cities promote themselves over the idea of being in "Hampton Roads" and I wish the region cooperated better.

[BFG]

From a nickname standpoint, I don’t like Coastal Virginia...at least not as a replacement for HR. It sounds very small town.

But from a marketing perspective, it makes sense, as we have several cities along  the coast. The marketing campaigns focusing on only one city at a time are strange to me. 

It would never happen, but if we became one city, I say call it Tidewater or New Dominion. 

[Virginia City]

I like the Hampton Roads name but I agree no one knows where that is unless you live here or close to here.  I believe that Norfolk and Portsmouth should be combined. Having the whole harbor under one city would fantastic for the city government. Also I would talk to Chesapeake about annexing South Norfolk. South Norfolk is more Berkley than Greenbrier and just seems out of place. Plus I remember hearing residents expressing concerns that the city seems to forget they are there in terms of development and infrastructure improvements a few years back. Personally I think Chesapeake may be open to the idea. Suffolk is also a possible place to merge with if Portsmouth is also on board. The larger the population combined with less mouths to feed (less cities) means possibly more money from the state for projects.

With the name change idea they could take an que from  Dallas. Known as the Dallas-Ft. Worth area for decades they started marketing themselves as the Dallas Metroplex incorporating the whole metro area but with the emphases on the one main city. Norfolk could advertise itself as the Norfolk Metro area but also include the Oceanfront and Colonial Williamsburg in the ads in addition to itself.  

[chris722]

Norfolk and Portsmouth are essentially the same city.  I often wonder about Newport News and Hampton, but I'm not familiar enough with the Peninsula to make that suggestion.

I don't see Virginia Beach or Chesapeake merging with anyone else.  Technically Virginia Beach is at a point where it does not need to; already the largest city in Virginia by population and, has the potential to be the largest county by population as well  if it were to move in a more progressive direction and stop being so suburban.  Nothing for Virginia Beach to gain; yes, one could have a larger city if it were to merge with Norfolk but these are residents who, historically, wanted a suburban life outside of Norfolk to begin with so I don't see them going back to that, even if it is name only.  It's like a Toronto vs Vancouver thing. 

With both cities, the Achilles heel is the Southside.  No one wants to see South Virginia Beach or South Chesapeake developed.   I'm not so sure that either necessarily needs to be developed into their Northern counterpart but I don't see that changing in either city in our lifetimes.  

And Williamsburg is never going to merge. You would have an easier time making a city out of James CIty County, puling a "Virginia Beach" and call that Williamsburg than you would getting it to merge with anything else on the Peninsula.  

There's nothing wrong with Hampton Roads.  No different than New England the region just needs a defining city like they have Boston.   One of the reasons why people don't know what Hampton Roads, or the Mid-Atlantic, for example, is because there are no real defining things about it.  Like people throw DC and Baltimore into the North; apologists say Mid-Atlantic, it is a backhanded way of defining Northern Virginia but then that same crowd does not want into include Hampton Roads in that dynamic.  It is maddening.  So Mid-Atlantic will never take off for that reason.  Some people in DC/Baltimore want to be in the Mid-Atlantic and some people in DC/Baltimore want to be up North.  So go figure.

Edited February 4, 2018 by chris722

[BFG]

Hampton Roads (or parts of it) is one of four markets getting a trial run for Amazon/Whole Foods's delivery service. Right now, WF will deliver to parts of VB, Norfolk, Chesapeake, and Portsmouth.

https://pilotonline.com/business/consumer/article_db7fe221-4b4b-5b63-8255-f722c8e434df.html

The other cities are Austin, Cincinnati, and Dallas. Pretty interesting that VB got selected, given we're not a market they would consider for HQ2. The two aren't necessarily connected, but you'd think they would do a trial run in markets that seem like a good fit for the new headquarters.

[Virginia City]

18 minutes ago, BFG said:

Hampton Roads (or parts of it) is one of four markets getting a trial run for Amazon/Whole Foods's delivery service. Right now, WF will deliver to parts of VB, Norfolk, Chesapeake, and Portsmouth.

https://pilotonline.com/business/consumer/article_db7fe221-4b4b-5b63-8255-f722c8e434df.html

The other cities are Austin, Cincinnati, and Dallas. Pretty interesting that VB got selected, given we're not a market they would consider for HQ2. The two aren't necessarily connected, but you'd think they would do a trial run in markets that seem like a good fit for the new headquarters.

True but Cincinnati isn't in the running either.  Amazon already knows where they are going to go, probably before they even started this bidding process. I think its awesome to be grouped with these cities, makes us look more respectable business wise.

[BFG]

Agreed, and I think it does a good job highlighting the demographics of the area. People are noticing what HR has to offer.

[OBXastronaut]

On 2/4/2018 at 11:33 AM, chris722 said:

There's nothing wrong with Hampton Roads.  No different than New England the region just needs a defining city like they have Boston.   One of the reasons why people don't know what Hampton Roads, or the Mid-Atlantic, for example, is because there are no real defining things about it.  Like people throw DC and Baltimore into the North; apologists say Mid-Atlantic, it is a backhanded way of defining Northern Virginia but then that same crowd does not want into include Hampton Roads in that dynamic.  It is maddening.  So Mid-Atlantic will never take off for that reason.  Some people in DC/Baltimore want to be in the Mid-Atlantic and some people in DC/Baltimore want to be up North.  So go figure.

Most of Virginia, including Hampton Roads, is considered Southern, and not Mid-Atlantic. As a Hampton Roads native and a Southerner, it's equally frustrating to have people lump us together with the Mid-Atlantic, and by extension, the Northeast.

Edited February 9, 2018 by OBXastronaut

[Norfolk757Kid]

Hampton Roads' southerness is diluted by all the people from all over the country that move here, mostly for the Navy, but also for NATO and the Port. There is a cosmopolitan nature to Hampton Roads, just look at the many international food options we have, because of all of this movement to the area, but the way that the region is laid out and spread out it's hard to feel or notice sometimes. 

[Virginia City]

I do wish we had an "ethnic area" like a Chinatown or a Little Italy. 

[OBXastronaut]

A more cosmopolitan feel Mid-Atlantic does not us make. Regardless of how "diluted" your opinion on the region's Southernness is, it's still the prevailing culture IMO. We're a world away from NOVA, DC, Baltimore, and Philly, and I'd like to keep it that way.

Edited February 9, 2018 by OBXastronaut

[BFG]

The Chamber of Commerce is headed to its next city to research. This time, it's Pittsburgh.

https://www.hamptonroadschamber.com/news/article/march/12/2018/join-us-in-pittsburgh/

[urbanvb]

I seriously want to be hope something good comes out of this but Virginia Beach with all its studies have left me feeling jaded.  Perhaps the Chamber of Commerce will be inspired. Pittsburgh is a great city though and hopefully something will be learned from this trip.

Edited March 21, 2018 by urbanvb