Neyland Entertainment District

#76
#76
youcancallmeAl said:
A quick feasibility checklist:

Enough parking? Will need an analysis. These kinds of businesses generate huge parking demand. Enough space to build enough structured parking? Economic feasibility of structured parking?

Traffic? Will require a traffic study to make sure the generated traffic can be accommodated on existing streets/roads, especially at peak times (I'm dubious about that - there is basically only one road to take traffic to and fro in east-west fashion. No connecting north-south artery present).

Negative impact on bars and restaurants and other entertainment businesses downtown and the strip? Will need to be studied.

I assume all the land that would be occupied by these businesses are on University owned land. Legal precedent for universities leasing land to an entertainment district of bars and other businesses?

Who would police this distirict - City or campus police, or state police? Proper ingress and egress for EMT?

Water and sewer and dry utilities capacities sufficient? Expansion of UT power generation needed?

Ethical question: Universities are supposed to be schools, not mixed use entertainment districts. Those two things have traditionally been separated. Legal, ethical, cultural, and economic equity questions to be studied?

Separate ethical question: President of UT is also the developer of downtown baseball stadium within ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT. Conflict of interest?

These came to mind off the top of my head. Any others?
Click to expand...
1000x1000px-LL-6a1ec4e4_lighten-up-francis-o.gif
 
  • Like
Reactions: feathersax, VFL_JB, walkenvol and 1 other person
#78
#78
youcancallmeAl said:
A quick feasibility checklist:

Enough parking? Will need an analysis. These kinds of businesses generate huge parking demand. Enough space to build enough structured parking? Economic feasibility of structured parking?

Traffic? Will require a traffic study to make sure the generated traffic can be accommodated on existing streets/roads, especially at peak times (I'm dubious about that - there is basically only one road to take traffic to and fro in east-west fashion. No connecting north-south artery present).

Negative impact on bars and restaurants and other entertainment businesses downtown and the strip? Will need to be studied.

I assume all the land that would be occupied by these businesses are on University owned land. Legal precedent for universities leasing land to an entertainment district of bars and other businesses?

Who would police this distirict - City or campus police, or state police? Proper ingress and egress for EMT?

Water and sewer and dry utilities capacities sufficient? Expansion of UT power generation needed?

Ethical question: Universities are supposed to be schools, not mixed use entertainment districts. Those two things have traditionally been separated. Legal, ethical, cultural, and economic equity questions to be studied?

Separate ethical question: President of UT is also the developer of downtown baseball stadium within ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT. Conflict of interest?

These came to mind off the top of my head. Any others?
Click to expand...
considering the entertainment district is supposed to function WITH Neyland stadium I think the concerns about parking/traffic fall under the typical game day experience. You aren't bringing in even more people than the couple hundred thousand on gameday already there, you are just giving them something to do. any of the game day/big events already have police on hand for directing traffic. G10 is already going to have to be torn down to do this just from a structural standpoint, I imagine the entire "underground" of this new district will be parking, see Atlantic Station in Atlanta for an example. probably would be able to increase parking, depending on the design.

as has been mentioned most of the strip is gone, so that is what this is replacing, and it won't be directly competing with downtown.

UT already leases land to multiple businesses. Various restaurants operate in the Student Union building. And I could be wrong but I am pretty sure that land where the Walmart is between main campus and the AG campus is University property, so I think there is some more precedence there. Someone may be able to check me there though.

I would assume during normal operations its campus police, and the city police get called in on big events. just as it already is.

Not sure about the utilities but I don't think those are holding back any of the other expansions going on on UT's campus, so I don't think this is much of a concern. This district's peak time is also going to be when the rest of the campus is relatively light. on the weekends, or late at night, you don't have students in all the various classrooms using that power, water, etc.

Not sure why we're worried about an entertainment district considering the venue (Neyland) its serving is an entertainment mecca already. Besides the UT affiliated events UT already hosts a TON of non-school events, many of which are purely entertainment. unless there is some weird bylaw somewhere I don't see it as a conflict of interest. If it also provides the students some needed amenities I don't see the issue. The businesses will probably take dining dollars. personally I would like to see some classrooms or dorms put in as well, so that the area is activated a little more as part of campus and not just purely entertainment. Again with the classrooms there won't be a lot of overlap in services. and if they are smart/wanted to at least some of these new businesses could be student ran/coop types. Not sure what all programs UT offers that this would work towards, but at the least you could get some business and logistic majors going, maybe open up a little clinic or something for the nursing, maybe some of the AG stuff/food can go to a restaurant (Farm to Table type).

the baseball stadium question isn't something I can speak on.

One issue I see is the railroad tracks, those companies pretty much NEVER give up their land. so there will be some type of tunnel, which is fine, but it does add elevation. and imo it would be nice if this district "spilled down" to the river, or at least opened up and looked towards the river somehow. would also need to redo the drive on the river.

One cool opportunity would be to pair up with some VFLs and have them own/partner some of these businesses. Maybe there's a Peyton's Papa Johns, or a Grant Williams Taco Mac, or whatever. or if there are some alum that have opened businesses they get preferential choice down there.
 
  • Like
Reactions: AlwaysOrangeNeverBlue
#79
#79
ptcarter said:
Agree. Boy, I used to walk down from Reese, hit he last lap or tap room, no.. first Eddies Liquor store to cash a check for $5.10 (Eddie kept the .10) that lasted a whole night of quarter beers, or hit the Maltese Falcon in Shelbourne towers. With all this fancy schmancy strip we got now, hard for a student to have a good time on $5 and still not have to drive.

but alas... heavy sigh.. Simon and Garfunkel sang.. Joe Dimagio, where have you gone? I think change the lyrics to "Cass Walker, where have you gone?"
Click to expand...
Sounds like we were students at the same time…lived in Carrick, then Humes, then Morrill, then off-campus. We frequented the same places! (I’d forgotten about cashing checks at Eddies Liquor 😁)
 
  • Like
Reactions: tntar heel
#80
#80
ptcarter said:
Agree. Boy, I used to walk down from Reese, hit he last lap or tap room, no.. first Eddies Liquor store to cash a check for $5.10 (Eddie kept the .10) that lasted a whole night of quarter beers, or hit the Maltese Falcon in Shelbourne towers. With all this fancy schmancy strip we got now, hard for a student to have a good time on $5 and still not have to drive.

but alas... heavy sigh.. Simon and Garfunkel sang.. Joe Dimagio, where have you gone? I think change the lyrics to "Cass Walker, where have you gone?"
Click to expand...
Students will never have fun with $5 ever again in anyplace. Too many greedy ass people and too much liability for serving cheap drinks.
 
  • Like
Reactions: HeadVol77
#85
#85
My Dad thought I was drinking a lot of liquor. (His checkbook and I did have a quota on spending). What a service Eddie provided!!!
 
  • Like
Reactions: SmokinBob
#87
#87
vol94 said:
It’s an embarrassment what’s happened with the strip. Parking garages and more apartments in lieu of small restaurants and bars for the students to visit or those in town for a TV football game.

I was shocked to see what happened over the past years and then recently over Christmas break. My concern is some students may get into a car and drive to a bar in the Old City, etc since the strip is very limited for night life.
Click to expand...
Uber and Lyft would solve most of those issues if used. Agree it's sad what the strip is now, but the need for housing was real. Big money rules the world. Most of the small businesses are gone.
 
  • Like
Reactions: HeadVol77 and BennesseeVols
#88
#88
82_VOL_83 said:
I'm pissed about the strip and all the businesses that were there for decades getting plowed under.
Click to expand...


You and me both. I am not against this development, but the strip and the local eateries and drinkeries are some of the things that made this campus unique. It can't be long before Gus's is gone and that will be the end of it all. My daughter just graduated a few days ago and she said she was glad that she could graduate before it was all gone.

The university is partly to blame for this. They have been ignoring their growing housing problem for the last few years and it is now at a tipping point. Freshman are no longer required to live on campus, and sophomores are being put on a waiting list for dorm housing. It used to be unthinkable that a senior couldn't stay in the dorms if they wanted to. Now, there is almost no way they can unless they are disadvantaged economically, socially or potentially prejudiced in some way. I even wonder sometimes if the destruction of the strip wasn't in the university's grand plan so they allowed housing to become untenable to drive demand for nearby but off-campus housing. By destroying the student hangouts, they create a new demand and they conveniently fill that void with the new Neyland Entertainment District.
 
  • Like
Reactions: feathersax, HeadVol77, 99grad and 3 others
#89
#89
GAVol said:
It’s all intertwined on some level, but I don’t think this proposal is really a cause. It’s just a reflection of the changing tastes.
Click to expand...
I don't disagree. Loss of the strip is one of the reasons that my wife and I chose not to retire in Knoxville. There has been no effort to preserve any modicum of tradition at UT. It's all about be new and changing to meet expectations. The problem is meeting expectations now will require a continual investment of massive amounts of $$. I guess that is just the way times are now. I'll take my personal bubble in W. KY and let the fabulous people have Knoxville.
 
#90
#90
SprocketRocket said:
...The university is partly to blame for this. They have been ignoring their growing housing problem for the last few years and it is now at a tipping point.
....
Click to expand...
The way they've been closing dorms left and right it looks like they've been intentionally exacerbating the housing problem. Which leads to the aforementioned question of conflict of interest.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ButchPlz, 82_VOL_83, HeadVol77 and 2 others
#91
#91
b_gann said:
Uber and Lyft would solve most of those issues if used. Agree it's sad what the strip is now, but the need for housing was real. Big money rules the world. Most of the small businesses are gone.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately you can’t find an Uber in that area. Many students have discussed this and I saw it first hand over a weekend when my wife and I were visiting. Maybe it’s changed but that was in the fall.
 
  • Like
Reactions: HeadVol77 and b_gann
#96
#96
dobre_shunka said:
1000x1000px-LL-6a1ec4e4_lighten-up-francis-o.gif
Click to expand...
Traffic is a real problem and when they squeezed Cumberland Ave to , essentially one lane, the problem became ten times worse. Now adding all the apartments etc. the problem will be even worse than it was last year. Someone is making decisions with their head in a paper bag.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 82_VOL_83
New posts
You must log in or register to reply here.

VN Store



Back
Top