Hampton Roads Arena

[carolinaboy]

On 10/16/2021 at 12:01 PM, HRVT said:

You name these cities with big arenas... but are they really worth it for those cities? Would they be worth it at today's prices?

For instance, Little Rock built their arena in the late 90s for $80 million. Nowadays, they MIGHT be able to build the same thing for $180 million. They attracted some minor league sports and a few one-off major acts. But those same minor league teams would have been feasible with an arena half the size and none of them stuck around. The one-offs are a mixed bag. But is that price tag worth attracting 2-3 major acts per year?

Greensboro is similar. IMO, when it's time to renovate Greensboro Coliseum, they should build a new, smaller one closer to downtown instead. Greensboro currently attracts the ACC Tournament every few years and the NCAA Tournament every 3-4 years. 

Without a major sports team, Norfolk would be STUPID to build a large arena. Replace Scope with a 10-12k seat arena in a location more accessible to the region and don't waste $100+ million extra on feeding ego which is all building a major arena would do... and maybe bring in an occasional major act.

I do think an arena should be smaller and more cost-effective. I posted that somewhere but am too lazy to find it.