If you are going to spend tourist development money (i.e. bed tax dollars) to build something to lure visitors to Alachua County, you probably want to locate it where local businesses will most benefit, or where a struggling community is in dire need of redevelopment.
Instead, Alachua County built its multi-million dollar sports and events center at just another cookie-cutter interstate sprawl island.
People who come come to the center from elsewhere are far more likely to get off the Interstate, check into a nearby chain hotel, eat at a nearby chain restaurant, and depart again via I-75 than they are to visit or spend money anywhere else in the county.
As local economic development initiatives this one is looking more and more like a bust.
Because what so obviously seemed a bad county commission decision at the center’s inception is looking even worse now.
Now that the county is having to take over operation of the center because its private ‘partner’ – the owners of Celebration Pointe – are in bankruptcy proceedings.
“To be clear, the County has to operate this facility, at least probably for the next foreseeable budget year,” county manager Michelle Lieberman told the commission.
“We have no idea what we’re taking on,” Commissioner Anna Prizzia said.
Funny, a lot of folks were telling commissioners that very thing when they decided to build the center in the one place it would have the least local economic development or redevelopment impact.
They could have built the center, say, in east GNV. Or downtown. Or close to the University of Florida. But doing so might have conflicted with Alachua County’s Prime Directive: Avoid partnering with the city of GNV at any cost.
What’s that old saying? Oh yeah. Sin in haste, repent at leisure.
FreeGNV 