If You Build It...

Faithful readers of my column in its previous incarnation at the Sun Sports website will remember several installments regarding the arena issue in Orlando. Earlier this week, Scott Maxwell of the Orlando Sentinel wrote a piece after the Magic's home opener that dredged up a lot of the same muck that Mike Thomas of the Sentinel brought up in a column he wrote in February of '05. I composed the following letter to the Sentinel editor and to Scott, who responded with great professionalism. He pointed out that he did, in fact, rip the Orange County Convention Center in print several times, and told me that he agreed with me on some levels. We remain far apart on the big picture, but I respect his views as a writer.

Anyway -- here's the letter I sent to the Sentinel editorial board on November 4th:

Is it safe to say that Scott Maxwell ("Do you believe in Magic of new arena?", November 3rd, 2005) and Mike Thomas ("There's nothing magical about an NBA team," February 17, 2005) aren't terribly keen on basketball?

After Thomas wrote that infamous column back in February, I composed a lengthy response, one that I never bothered to send. Thomas argued, among other points, that the Magic "do not bring economic development" and "do not improve our quality of life," conclusions he drew from an Orange County poll. I vigorously disagreed, point by point. Further, I believed then, as I do now, that his representation of personal opinion as fact was misleading and irresponsible. Figuring that my viewpoint would fall on deaf ears - and having vented simply by writing the letter - I filed it away.

Then, on Thursday morning, I read Scott Maxwell's piece after the Magic's home opener.

Full disclosure: I work for Sun Sports, and therefore derive professional benefit from the success of an NBA franchise in Orlando. I am also a former Magic employee, and still have personal relationships with many people in the front office. Those points are ceded. Feel free to dismiss me as just another "sports guy."

But you can't dismiss this: I'm also a Central Florida native, born and raised here. My parents live here. After nearly seven years as an anchor at ESPN, I voluntarily moved my family back here because I wanted my kids to grow up the same way I did. This place means something to me. This is home.

In reading Maxwell's column - and re-reading Thomas's from last spring - it occurs to me that before we start arguing, we should at least agree upon the topic.

The Orlando Magic play 41 regular-season home games each season. Throw in preseason games and the occasional playoff series, and we're looking at 50 nights of professional basketball. If a new downtown arena opens in Orlando - or if the TD Waterhouse Centre, currently the oldest building in the NBA that has not been structurally updated, gets a facelift - that leaves 315 open dates on the calendar each year. Three hundred and fifteen open dates for concerts, conventions, trade shows, boat shows, ice shows, rodeos, and whatever else management can book. Maxwell speculates that the Magic will push to "make a contribution to the arena that's consistent with their usage. You'll hear that's about 25 percent. That's malarkey."

He's right. If you divide 50 Magic games by 365 days a year, the number is actually closer to 14 percent. Hold that thought.

In the same column, Maxwell opines, "the concept of spending money that belongs to local residents - many of whom are dirt-poor - to subsidize a playpen for rich athletes is distasteful." True - but using public money to partially subsidize a multipurpose facility that serves the public year-round is, well, pretty much how every elementary school, rec center, and park in this country came to be. No matter - even though I believe a new or refurbished arena would benefit more than just basketball players, I'll grant that the Magic would indeed be the "anchor tenant."

Speaking of anchor tenants - ever been to American Airlines Arena in Miami? Ever see America West Arena in Phoenix? Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis? Each of those buildings, and dozens more across the country in all pro sports, were built for more than just games. Each incorporates retail, dining, attractions, and other uses into its business model, creating a year-round, non-game-day magnet for commerce. Imagine, for example, an arena in downtown Orlando with a high-end restaurant in one corner, a terrace nightclub in another, a Central Florida-related Hall of Fame in yet another, and perhaps a kids' museum, television studio, or - gasp - arts center in another. Would the Magic benefit from a new building? Obviously. Would they be alone in that regard? Only under the most narrow of thinking.

On the subject of cost, Maxwell points out that a new arena could have a price "as high as $350 million," and casually mentions that a new elementary school costs "about $13 million." Curiously, he fails to mention the $2.8 billion dollars - that's billion, with a "B" - that Orange County has invested in its convention center (Orlando Sentinel, April 17, 2005). So I'm wondering - would a new arena, replete with shops, restaurants, bars, and other business attractors, all within walking distance of the hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of condominiums currently under construction downtown, be a boondoggle compared to the convention center? I'm not here to pick a fight with the convention center, the county officials who approved it, or the hoteliers who pulled the strings, but I will point out that under Maxwell's math, $2.8 billion dollars would build 2,153 new schools. I'm curious as to why that figure draws apathy, while a new arena provokes outrage.

Let's try another angle. Give me your list of favorite American cities, the ones viewed as the most vibrant, the most cosmopolitan, and the most dynamic. My list includes San Francisco, Boston, New York, Denver, Chicago, and a few more. Make your list, and then ask yourself what each of these cities has in common. I'll wager that "an exciting downtown" is part of the equation, and I'll guarantee that most of those favorite cities feature at least one, if not several major professional sports franchises, playing in a well-equipped, updated, family-friendly facility. I'm not suggesting that sports makes a city - but it doesn't hurt. No "great" city is devoid of sports as community-building entertainment.

My friend Mike Bianchi likes to say that Orlando is a "rudderless, anchorless" area, filled with a transient population, and he's right. For decades, our image, both domestically and abroad, has been defined by our visitors. Transplant or native, resident or tourist, all are welcome here. Short of the daily traffic nightmare on I-4, I don't hear much complaining - not when the weather is nice, and the state income tax is nonexistent.

But here's the thing - Orlando does not belong to its visitors. It belongs to us. We live here, pay taxes here, and send our kids to school here. We work, play, and worship here. The central question, for Maxwell, Thomas, and any other arena opponent, is this: What do we want Orlando to be? Are we content to play second fiddle to Miami, Tampa, and Jacksonville forever? Are we satisfied with being little more than an airport and highway system for tourists, hoteliers, and conventioneers? Is that your vision for Orlando?

Personally, I want my hometown to be a vibrant, dynamic community, with world-class entertainment and a sophisticated public image. I wish for a diverse and growing economy, good schools, and safe streets. Unlike some, however, I do not believe that these goals, and the goal of a successful pro sports franchise in a well-appointed downtown arena, to be mutually exclusive.

The arena issue will be settled with creative thinking from men and women who share that wish, most likely through a partnership of public and private interests. It will be settled by people who acknowledge the challenges, and dedicate themselves to solutions. In short, the arena issue will be settled by people with vision. And at its core, the arena issue is but one component of the larger, more critical question:

What do we want Orlando to be?