Can Jackson ever have a nice arena?

[ababyatemydingo]

Compared to a 3rd world country, which is the comment I replied to. But it’s also better than pretty much any other town in Mississippi. You can act like murders happen all over the city with regularity or you can just stay out of west Jackson and more than likely be ok. I’ve live in Madison for about 8 years and work in downtown Jackson. I’ve never had one issue.

Take a walk down Ellis Ave, West Capital, Cooper Road, Terry Road, Hanging Moss, Meadowbrook/North State intersection, or East Beasley (just to name a few) after dark, and get back to me on your view of Jackson (inside the city limits). I own a company that handles IT/Video Surveillance for a lot of national accounts (including dollar stores), and we’ve been in all those areas for many years. I can tell you with solid data that it’s getting much worse in all those areas. You have businesses simply closing up shop because they’re getting broken into so frequently that it’s just not worth it anymore. Then crooks are breaking into the empty stores next door to open stores and busting through the Sheetrock to break into the open stores. Happened to one we were in last week 5 times this month. I don’t allow my guys to be working in those areas after dark. One of my guys was held up a few years ago, trying to finish an install and walking to the truck for tools

 

[ronpolk]

Take a walk down Ellis Ave, West Capital, Cooper Road, Terry Road, Hanging Moss, Meadowbrook/North State intersection, or East Beasley (just to name a few) after dark, and get back to me on your view of Jackson (inside the city limits). I own a company that handles IT/Video Surveillance for a lot of national accounts (including dollar stores), and we’ve been in all those areas for many years. I can tell you with solid data that it’s getting much worse in all those areas. You have businesses simply closing up shop because they’re getting broken into so frequently that it’s just not worth it anymore. Then crooks are breaking into the empty stores next door to open stores and busting through the Sheetrock to break into the open stores. Happened to one we were in last week 5 times this month. I don’t allow my guys to be working in those areas after dark. One of my guys was held up a few years ago, trying to finish an install and walking to the truck for tools

Have I made one argument that said Jackson didn’t have crime problems? I have not. Jackson is not a third world country no matter what you wanna say. Crime problems, yes. Third world country, no.

Hell Jackson alone has a higher per capita GDP than some entire countries. People can make a very logical and sound argument by saying Jackson is crime ridden and dangerous but you lose your argument when you get dramatic and say it’s a third world country.

 

[The Situation]

Have I made one argument that said Jackson didn’t have crime problems? I have not. Jackson is not a third world country no matter what you wanna say. Crime problems, yes. Third world country, no.

Hell Jackson alone has a higher per capita GDP than some entire countries. People can make a very logical and sound argument by saying Jackson is crime ridden and dangerous but you lose your argument when you get dramatic and say it’s a third world country.

Yep. And even dumber are the people who say we should let it rot and it's beyond saving. The problem is, we CAN'T. People who say those type of things obviously have never been anywhere else.

Now, I will say that yeah, maybe a large portion of it should be left to its own vices. But there should be a concerted governmental effort to maintain the downtown areas (state and local). The rest can live at the whim of private investment.

No matter, this was a thread about an arena in the METRO AREA. Not restricted to Jackson.

 

[engie]

Like to see 'where' these stats come from. 3x Chicago rate would be huge number. So far, in 2019, Chicago has had 493 murders. The year ain't over.

Chicago has 20.7 murders per 100,000 people living there.
Jackson was at 50.31 last year.

The data isn't hard to come by.

 

[The Situation]

Chicago has 20.7 murders per 100,000 people living there.
Jackson was at 50.31 last year.

The data isn't hard to come by.

Ruh Roh, engine making math errors. Bookmark this!!

https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/blog/highest-murder-rate-cities-2018

 

[engie]

Nice 2016 data, Goat. I think Fitzgerald will be really good as a junior!11!

Here's one you've probably heard of with current 20188) data. https://www.wlbt.com/2019/01/09/jacksons-homicide-rate-ranks-highest-citys-history-per-fbi-data/

 

[Digging dog]

LolNOPE
https://twitter.com/tjamestracey/status/1209472368697073664?s=21

 

[The Situation]

Nice 2016 data, Goat. I think Fitzgerald will be really good as a junior!11!

Here's one you've probably heard of with current 20188) data. https://www.wlbt.com/2019/01/09/jacksons-homicide-rate-ranks-highest-citys-history-per-fbi-data/

Fake news!!

Yeah you got me on 2018 (I don't care enough to read the details), but you're still cherrypicking years to fit the agenda.

More to the point, if STL and Birmingham can be cities that people actually frequent, with higher murder rates, Jackson can too.

Burn it to the ground!!

 

[UpTheMiddlex3Punt]

Are the city councilors obstructing progress back when I lived there in the 1990s still on the council? If yes, then the answer is no.

 

[bruiser.sixpack]

I agree with you. Kenya is much nicer than Jackson.

So Jackson is not a 3rd world country, it is much worse.

And the heading says Jackson. So you adjusted it in the subject matter to reflect metro.

So now, I will answer the “metro area question” of which I am a member and do not want to be considered part of Jackson.

Pearl, Ridgeland and Madison could build a new Arena. But just like the M-Braves, in Pearl, IF a Semi-Pro, or Development League team set up shop, Jackson would not support it.

The Braves get some support from Clinton, Madison , Brandon, Richland and Pearl, but little to no support from Jackson. The MBraves will either be gone in 2024 when the facility goes over to the City of Pearl, or a Single A Independent Team anyway.

So as someone else asked, who would use the Arena unless it was big enough to hold 30 large concerts and be used at least 40 weeks a year, why is it needed?

 

[Rupert Jenkins]

Jackson is a lost cause. The city doesnt bring in enough revenue to repair roads or sewers or water systems. No one in their right mind will invest into any kind of business to improve the city as it would be similar to throwing money away. It's sad for the Capitol of this state. The blight is spreading thru north Jackson and into Ridgeland already.

 

[ronpolk]

I agree with you. Kenya is much nicer than Jackson.

So Jackson is not a 3rd world country, it is much worse.

And the heading says Jackson. So you adjusted it in the subject matter to reflect metro.

So now, I will answer the “metro area question” of which I am a member and do not want to be considered part of Jackson.

Pearl, Ridgeland and Madison could build a new Arena. But just like the M-Braves, in Pearl, IF a Semi-Pro, or Development League team set up shop, Jackson would not support it.

The Braves get some support from Clinton, Madison , Brandon, Richland and Pearl, but little to no support from Jackson. The MBraves will either be gone in 2024 when the facility goes over to the City of Pearl, or a Single A Independent Team anyway.

So as someone else asked, who would use the Arena unless it was big enough to hold 30 large concerts and be used at least 40 weeks a year, why is it needed?

You’re just irrational, I understand that now and won’t waste anymore time talking about this. I’ve been to Kenya once for work, which is why I used the example of Kenya. I’d love to drop you off in that country and watch you beg to come back to live in Jackson. Jackson is Buckingham Palace compared to 99% of Kenya.

 

[paindonthurt_]

There seems to be a trend with locations and demographics

 

[bruiser.sixpack]

You’re just irrational, I understand that now and won’t waste anymore time talking about this. I’ve been to Kenya once for work, which is why I used the example of Kenya. I’d love to drop you off in that country and watch you beg to come back to live in Jackson. Jackson is Buckingham Palace compared to 99% of Kenya.

Not irrational. Just sarcastic.

 

[Go Budaw]

Fake news!!

Yeah you got me on 2018 (I don't care enough to read the details), but you're still cherrypicking years to fit the agenda.

More to the point, if STL and Birmingham can be cities that people actually frequent, with higher murder rates, Jackson can too.

Burn it to the ground!!

I don’t think citing two cities who have seen people move away in droves since the 1950’s and 1960’s is really helping your argument.

 

[The Situation]

I don’t think citing two cities who have seen people move away in droves since the 1950’s and 1960’s is really helping your argument.

You don’t even understand the argument.

Jackson (metro) isn’t a destination city and never will be barring some unique economic niche boom. But it can be made to be ‘ok’, similar to Bham and STL, who have higher murder rates.

 

[goodknight]

In a single word. NO. Not in downtown.

 

[xxxWalkTheDawg]

Nope

Compared to a 3rd world country, which is the comment I replied to. But it’s also better than pretty much any other town in Mississippi. You can act like murders happen all over the city with regularity or you can just stay out of west Jackson and more than likely be ok. I’ve live in Madison for about 8 years and work in downtown Jackson. I’ve never had one issue.

Desoto county has more momentum than anywhere currently in the state right now and it’s not even close.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

Create demand.
Small, nice, ability to add on, multi functional.
Concerts
Basketball
Conventions
Etc

Disagree here. 600K in the metro, and it's the business center for nearly all of central MS. Plus, they've had events there for years. I think the problem is the lack of facilities with proper management. Just watch, this new convention center in Flowood will stay booked, while the Jackson Convention Center sits empty.

As far as the Coliseum, I think they'd rather use if for rodeos and things like that.

I think I agree more with The Situation. And The State of Mississippi agrees with you, paindonthurt. Having said that, the reasons why demand doesn’t exist:

Metro Jackson will have more of a convention/events space glut next year because of Flowood and the new Trade Mart which is supposed to connect to the Coliseum— making it multifunctional.

Less basketball will be played in the Coliseum in 2020– only the semifinals will be there with quarterfinals at regional sites and finals at Ole Miss.

Arena concerts maybe have a November - March prime time window. I agree with The Situation that rodeos and such will be more emphasized meaning that the concert window is not as big as it should be but with less basketball games maybe that means late February/early March shows but I’m not holding my breath.

 

[Rupert Jenkins]

My insider info is that as soon as they finish the new Nascar track they are gonna take the Metrocenter down and build a state of the art football stadium and try to attract a team, either NFL or XFL

 

[dog12]

Jackson is a lost cause. The city doesnt bring in enough revenue to repair roads or sewers or water systems. No one in their right mind will invest into any kind of business to improve the city as it would be similar to throwing money away. It's sad for the Capitol of this state. The blight is spreading thru north Jackson and into Ridgeland already.

Agree.

The blight of Jackson will spread and eventually consume the nice parts of the metro area. Once that begins to happen, the suburbs will move farther out.

And so on and so on.

 

[SwampDawg]

Wonder which insiders own the land that will be bought, own the contractors that will build, etc. All for a monument to mis-guided plans. Why in the world would a venture that requires a population center with lots of money move to Jackson?

 

[Go Budaw]

You don’t even understand the argument.

Jackson (metro) isn’t a destination city and never will be barring some unique economic niche boom. But it can be made to be ‘ok’, similar to Bham and STL, who have higher murder rates.

I understand the argument just fine. STL and Birmingham became astronomically large cities in the 50’s and 60’s. St. Louis topped out at over 850k around 1950 and Birmingham got over 500k around the same time. That growth before their decline ensured there would always be some entertainment and business presence for decades beyond, even though both have greatly diminished since their peak.

Jackson never reached that critical mass before it started going downhill around 1980 or so. Never even got over 200k.

Also, while both STL and Birmingham are both infinitely more desirable than Jackson, there isn’t any reason to go out of your way to ever visit either one (with the possible exception of St. Louis Cardinals baseball, if that’s your thing). Point is, aspiring to be a smaller St. Louis or Birmingham is setting a really low bar.

 

[The Situation]

Point is, aspiring to be a smaller St. Louis or Birmingham is setting a really low bar.

Walk before you crawl.

Like I said before, you simply cannot give up on Jackson. To do so is giving up on the state of Mississippi. To do that, is ultimately giving up on Mississippi State.

 

[The Peeper]

Do you have a meter or are you a relative of a city employee that "purged" your name off the billing list?

 

[Go Budaw]

Walk before you crawl.

Like I said before, you simply cannot give up on Jackson. To do so is giving up on the state of Mississippi. To do that, is ultimately giving up on Mississippi State.

Well first off, that saying is backwards.

Secondly, Jackson’s future has no definite bearing on MSU or Mississippi in general. There’s no reason why another city or cities in the state can’t rise up and become desirable places to live or visit. You don’t hear residents of New York saying that as goes Albany, so goes the rest of the state. It’s just faulty logic.

Finally, Jackson’s problems are simply a microcosm of the state of Mississippi’s problems in general. Pretty much every single one of those problems arises from over 160 years of failed adaptation to fundamental economic and social changes that have occurred over long periods of time. Problems that are 160 years in the making require solutions that take that long or longer to implement. Some people may try to take on that battle. Some of whom have old money ties to a particular area like Jackson that make it very beneficial for them to stay there. Then there are other folks who are good people and want to remain due to family ties or general comfort and familiarity...nothing wrong with that. But there’s a much larger group that know that their time and resources on this planet are limited, and choose to spend both in a manner that best serves their immediate family and their future generations. Very few such opportunities exist in Jackson anymore, and they know the problems that need to be fixed won’t ever be fixed while they are alive. So, they leave, and its hard to blame them. It is what it is.

Jackson doesn’t need an influx of high functioning intellectuals to fix its issues, it needs a network of straight up philanthropists who will breed more philanthropists that will then do the same, and all of them need to stick around passing the baton for the next two centuries. That’s the only way anything will ever change.