Land Mark or Land Mine


Since 1991 the Pyramid has been seen by some as unique and beautiful, by others as wasteful and inadequate. One thing is for sure it has more ups and downs than the Zippen Pippen. Well for better or worse the Pyramid has become part of the image of Memphis. I for one want to see the old girl given a new lease on life.

Bass Pro has been daggling a deal with the City for several months. Now I know this process can take time but come on! Robert Lipscomb, director of Housing and Community Development said that Bass has a January 31, 2008 deadline. I can not help but think we too often go into these business deals with these companies already knowing what cards we are holding. If this was poker I think leaving the other guy guessing to some degree might not be a bad thing. With that in mind there is another player, Memphian Greg Ericson, who is proposing turning the Pyramid into a multimillion dollar theme park. What I like best about Mr. Ericson proposal is that it would generate a large number of jobs for the teenagers here in Memphis, which to me should be the number one priority of this City. Much of the crime that we are facing is fueled by a large unemployed teenage population. This is something we must get a handle on.

With our short winters I have always felt Memphis has the perfect weather for a major theme park. I really wonder how much of an attraction Bass Pro would be to the average Memphian or for that matter the average tourist. Ericson proposal has gained the attention of several County Commissioners and presently all he is asking for is a nonbinding letter of intent. With the demise of Liberty Land this City needs a family oriented entertainment center. A theme park could be the icing on the Downtown cake.

I plan to meet with Mr. Lipscomb and a couple of County Commissioners this week. I will see if I can get a better understanding on where they are trying to take our City.

What do you think?

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Milton, you are being too nice. This City bends over for businesses. We let them go over budget on their projects which we pay for. They 'forget' to build parking spaces. We offer them Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) benefits with the understanding that they will provide a set number of jobs. Jobs that never materialize.

When we keep putting people in office who don't know what they are doing this is what you get.

Anonymous said...

WHY ARE THEY TRYING TO PUT A BAIT SHOP DOWNTOWN? THEY CAN TRY AND DRESS IT UP ALL THEY WANT, BUT IN THE END IT IS A BAIT SHOP. WHO IN MEMPHIS IS GOING TO GO THERE?

Anonymous said...

11:43 Ease up on the caps.

I disagree. A lot of people I know are hunters including myself. If you like camping, fishing, hunting or just like to go look at their aquarium. Bass Pro is part museum and part store.

It would be a great addition to Downtown. We're all hoping things work out.

Anonymous said...

The bait shop will do well. Just wait and see. Get business wise not street wise.

They are all forgetting that there is a pay back day ahead. Memphis is going to turn out all of the hoodlums in office and replace them with people who deserve to be there. No longer will rats run in through the cracks and steal the cheese.

Reginald Milton said...

To 5:28 PM

You may notice that I did not post everything you said. Your earlier comments were a bit too graphic. I didn't want to completely delete your views, but please in the future try to focus more on issues and less on personal attacks.

Anonymous said...

Mayor Herenton is doing a fine job with rebuilding down town. It's like a rebirth. If they think Bass Pro will be best for that site I can't think of who would know better than them. They are the ones making the deal and we elected them so we should trust that they are doing what is best for our City.

Anonymous said...

Memphis on the Nile, the Pyramid on Mississippi. It was a good concept. Just wish they had designed the thing better. I remember going to an indoor football game there. The seating was terrible. They were too small and at too sharp an angle. You fell like you were going to fall over into the next row of chairs below.

Downtown is moving forward and I think Bass Pro would be a plus.

Anonymous said...

The decline of the Pyramid had a huge impact on the Downtown Pinch District. It broke my heart when the restaurant Cafe Francisco closed their doors. They just were not getting the business they used to. The owner Julie Ray said she might give it another go. Let's hope so.

Anonymous said...

Reginald Milton,

That's the problem with society today, the truth when told is always squashed. We delete graphic truth but not graphic filth. Any effort to keep the truth from coming out. There is an old adage, "truth squashed to the earth will rise again". Those who really want to know the truth do full well realize what is going on in our society.

Only when the people are allowed to hear the real truth will a real difference be made in our world. I am very aware of politics and the inside dealings of the majority of the elected officials. It only requires one to step briefly from their own cozy domain into another area of the city, mainly east Memphis to see what our downtowners do in their spare time and on the weekend. They lobby the rich and the famous for their own self appeal. They vigorously claim, while campaigning, that they will be working for the constituents in their neighborhoods. Just wait until they are in office and see where they head. I challenge you to drive to east Memphis one Saturday morning and just casually drop into a few establishements and see who you will gleam and with who. And who knows what they are doing together. Odd couples all over the place. It's a live soap opera. I'm in the inner circle.

Reginald Milton said...

To: 8:16 AM

Much of what you said rings true. We have local politicians who talk about how much they love "their" community, but you would need a trained blood hound dog to find them here. And once they are out of office and are not being paid they disappear like smoke.

As long as the citizens of this city refuse to hold these people accountable they will continue to take advantage of them.

Let me also point out that there are a lot of elected officials that go about doing their jobs without fanfare. They work hard and commit themselves to building this City. It's easy to focus on the bad apples and ignore the good ones.

Now to your point about deleting graphic truth, if this is in reference to my decision to edit an earlier comment I can only say I am not out to squash the truth, but I will not allow "ON MY BLOG" unfounded attacks and what I consider gutter language. During my campaign I was horrified at how seemingly respectable people were willing to make knowingly false statements about candidates they opposed. What was even more disturbing was how willing the public was to believe them.

When I started this site I based it on three clear foundations: TRUTH, FAIRNESS, & ENLIGHTENMENT. When you come to my blog it is like me going to your home. I accept your rules and guidelines.

I want all of you to feel free to call to task anyone, including me, but be prepared to backup your argument. Don’t come to this site and just call someone an idiot. Anyone can do that. Give me examples, prove your argument. All I am asking is for you to use your noodle.

Thank you for your comments.

Anonymous said...

"Raise the Pyramid." That is what Mayor Herenton is saying he is open to doing. Why not? We throw millions of dollars away all the time. Look at the over spending we did on the FedEx Forum and the Cannon Center, which is falling apart.