....This speaks to my constant concern that we put our eggs in the tourism basket without an underlying reason to be in town -- no natural wonders, no massive theme parks, no national draw sports facilities. Perhaps Dickies Arena will provide some opportunities.
But more than that, I find your abstraction of Sundace Square being behind the curve separate from the city being behind the curve pretty frustrating....
You phrase this in a way as if Sundance Square has let down Fort Worth, while I think it is more that Fort Worth has let down Sundance Square by not inspiring the kind of jobs and people that are needed to support things like Sundance Square....
I hope so much that it can play a role in inspiring and stimulating investment in more premium commercial space and high wage jobs........ story of pouring huge investment to monetize the underlying asset of sports facilities. We need our success story.
Gosh, where did I say that Sundance Square has let down Fort Worth? It seems only in your mind and I would welcome you citing such a remark coming from me. My stance has been that Sundance Square stifles competition for its own benefit. Now it can no longer stifle competition so easily.
And Arlington, without any natural wonders has done phenomenally well creating itself as the top tourist city in Texas. Ditto for San Antonio. Ditto Nashville. Just because you don't have a Grand Canyon is not a reason to declare defeat before you get started. It is a ridiculous position which besides a dogged blindness to it is only surpassed by never being able to offer any tangible alternative at the present.
Go back it time when you saw nothing to the change in retailing management of Sundance Square; read what you stated at the time and read what I stated at the time. It was obvious to me that this was the action of a once dominant retailing group who was becoming concern with their competition. A decade ago, Sundance Square/Downtown was clearly the focal point of entertainment and nightlife in Fort Worth. Now, there is W7th, Clear Fork, Riverbend, Arlington:Texas Live,and soon the Fort Worth Stockyards will be bursting upon the scene. Sundance Square is cognizant of these new centers which pose direct competition to its long held position at the top. Remember when North Texas was the site of the Super Bowl, Dallas hosted the Packers (Victory Park) and Fort Worth hosted the Steelers; Sundance Square with ESPN garnered 100% of Steelers fans and over 65% of Packers fans. Sundance Square was put on the map that week and riding at the peak of its heyday.
To telegraph to Sundance Square that it most now think of doing that (a major project) which can recapture its standing within Tarrant County and is to be received hopefully as a message that it alone can make it happen. Like Arlington, find a corporate partner who will develop Gateway Block. There is a comparable situation/block in Downtown Austin which somehow found developers from Minneapolis to bring in a speculative 60-story mixed used development. I believe, maybe overly so, that if the will is here, it can happen for Downtown/ Sundance Square;but if Sundance Square continues to sit idly by while others are moving on with their developmental plans, then Sundance Square could become the next Victory Plaza or West End.
There are two things that I will continue to stand by:
#1 - It is utterly ridiculous and untrue that Fort Worth has purposely let itself down; it is madness to say so. And now seems like the perfect opportunity to share a year end message from a financial advisors that we regularly use and is appplicable to us in general-
"I (Financial Advisor) was afforded many opportunities this year (2019) to attend workshops and coaching sessions with some of the best in our industry (Finance). Most notably, on many occasions over the past year, I spent time with Dr. Jason Selk. Dr. Selk was the sports pyschologist that helped the St.Louis Cardinals with their first World Series in over 20 years in 2011......Dr. Selk places a strong emphasis on things we can control and recognizing our strong points". I would venture a guess that Dr. Selk would probably advise Fort Worth to do the same,or more directly - infrastructure and culture.
If the emerging success story (Fort Worth Tourism Plan) is not visible to some, it is not because it is not happening and can not be successful; it is because it is not what some would prefer. To some, no amount of evidence demonstrating the market forces operating rationally or for some who think the local market can be dictated in a narrow direction of a particular kind of job will obtain serenity and will likely continue to wring their hands in frustration. I personally have moved beyond tearing my hair out by reaching for the brass ring and coming short; and instead of being frustrated, I am rejoicing in the prospect of seeing Fort Worth growing a sector that it has many assets to put into use productively.
#2 - For Sundance Square to remain among the top or be the top of Tarrant County centers, it will have to bring more people to its center. Sundance Square will have to match or exceed Arlington. I am both grateful and respectful in a healthy way for the momentum in Arlington. It will reverberate to Downtown Fort Worth. As for Sundance Square, it will have to invest more than ever, partner with a hotel/corporation so that it can bring to new and greater activity to its center. I believe that investment through capitalism decides winners and losers. In the case of Sundance Square, only its inaction can and will become its downfall. I think ,pretty much, that is all that I have to say about Sundance Square for now other than to say "stand pat at your own peril".