Big Tent Bid Means City Just Slower In Going Over The Cliff

The fabric building at the CasaBlanca is smaller than
the one proposed for the Regional Park.

The Mesquite City Council voted on Tuesday to put the Big Tent idea out to bids.

For those who are just getting back into town, the "Big Tent" is the latest desperate grasp at straws by people claiming to have the best interest of local business owners at heart.  It's a used fabric building that is currently being utilized as a shelter for airplane construction, a long way from Mesquite.

The idea is to buy it for $2-3 million, bring it to Mesquite, and put it up on some land near the soccer fields in the Mesquite Sports and Events Complex (what is known by longtime residents as the Regional Park).

Then, it can be used as an indoor facility for soccer games and other sporting events, allowing the city to have such events during the summer when even lizards want to head north for the summer to escape the desert's brutal 115-degree heat.

Where supporters want to put it is poetic.  They could even name it the "Desert Falls Solstice Soccer Tent" in honor of the two failed projects that were once slated for locations next to or down the street from the proposed location.

The general idea isn't a bad one.

But as always, the devil is in the details.

Mesquite needs a new draw, since the struggling casinos appear to have abandoned their previous roles as promoters of the city and providers of shows and events to bring people here.  After the heady days when the CasaBlanca's own tent once brought in acts like Kenny Rogers, Clint Black, Wynonna, Travis Tritt, and even Larry the Cable Guy, today they don't even bother with guys like Don Williams and the Bellamy Brothers from the ATSA tour.  (ATSA="Are They Still Alive?")

And that should be the first warning sign.

The tent (events center) at the CasaBlanca is getting used once or twice a month, despite the fact that the casinos have a deeply vested interest in bringing visitors to Mesquite.  If they can't do any better than that when they have a dedicated staff motivated and experienced in bringing events to the community, what chance does the City of Mesquite have with their history of being extremely inept in developing and promoting their own events?  The City has absolutely no one on their staff qualified to take this on, especially not in the Economic Development department which will likely get this task tossed on their desk.

The first answer that might jump to mind is "let's go out and hire someone to do this." 

That's right, at a time when the city continues to lay off long term and talented individuals, let's go spend $75,000 a year to hire someone?  Or even worse, take the lazy way out that this city seems to love doing, which is to hire another high-priced outside consultant?

And that leads to a simple truth that a handful of zealots inside and outside City Hall refuse to acknowledge:

We just don't have the money.

The big talk is to raid MORE money from the RDA redevelopment fund that is supposed to be earmarked for "rehabilitating blighted areas."  It seems that everyone in Mesquite except councilman Karl Gustaveson understands that area to be downtown Mesquite, which is currently overrun with vacant stores and half-empty shopping centers, including two that are currently in horrendous shape and in dire need of makeovers.  That is what the RDA money is legally and morally intended for.

Then, beyond the $2-3 million to buy and erect the thing, there will be significant maintenance costs in the upkeep of a fabric building, costs that wouldn't exist with a more traditional concrete or steel structure (not to mention the fact that a steel or concrete structure would last longer, giving us a better return on the dollar).

Another thing that keeps coming up is the location.  While Gustaveson and other council members claim that "most" of the people they've heard from support the project (which is the exact opposite of what I've found, that all but two people I've spoken with oppose the idea), the think I keep hearing from opponents is that the location will not help the downtown and local businesses, which is what the council members claim is their biggest motivation.

Because of the remote location which is bordered on two sides by large residential neighborhoods, and the lack of public transportation to that address, opponents claim it won't lead to much of an uptick in business.  I don't know that I agree with that, but I do agree that the boon would be much more significant if the tent were pitched in the middle of town.

Where, you might ask?  Well, we have this big patch of dirt downtown that was originally purchased for an obscene price almost across the street from City Hall by the previous council, allegedly for a new library that is extremely unlikely to ever be built.  Putting a large indoor facility there would be a true boost to the downtown area, and would instantly change former councilman Randy Ence from goat to hero.

Another question that keeps nagging at opponents is the involvement of NCS, a developer with out-of-state roots that has never built a single thing they promised to build in Mesquite, despite the fact that the city has gift-wrapped not one but two huge parcels of land at fire sale prices in the last decade.

Haven't we had enough of carpet baggers like Solstice and Desert Falls rolling into town and promising the moon, only to deliver larger and larger piles of nothing?  Speaking of which, we should have zero interest in building another facility to help out the Long Drivers organization.  We've already built them a first-class driving range with tax dollars, only to be rewarded by having to come up with another $50,000 a year in payoffs to the organizers to keep them coming here.

If we truly want to have a large event facility (and I fervently believe that as a town trying to be a tourist destination, this is an absolute must), let's partner up with some folks we know.

The new owners of the CasaBlanca, Virgin River, Oasis, and Mesquite Star are obviously cash poor right now, but they could certainly find funds for a project that would benefit them, especially if they're not carrying all the risk.  On the other end of town, the Lee family has been here for a long time, and they have proven their devotion to this community over and over and over.  If the city wants to partner up with someone to build a large, permanent facility almost dead center between the two casino areas, it would seem more logical to become partners with business people who are already here, who have already invested heavily in our community, and have proven they can actually accomplish something.  With the combination of those three, taxpayers wouldn't have to carry the whole load.  Also, the staff to market and promote the facility would be built-in, coming from not one but two casinos that are both known for having tremendous prowess and experience in promotions and events.

It would also help get Mesquite back on track to "finding itself."

We have forgotten who we are as a community, a tourist and retirement destination.  While dreams of making Mesquite a Mecca for soccer or other youth sports sounds exciting, the reality is that kids and senior citizens don't mix well.  Bringing kids into the community also does little for the casinos (which is why, you'll notice, the casinos don't bother bringing in a lot of youth events).  And nonsense about the parents being casino customers doesn't wash.  Most families have little money or time available for sitting at a gaming table.

If Mesquite wasn't already a casino town, already a retirement community, the idea of bringing more youth sports would be a brilliant foundation for a directionless town.

But we are what we are.  We were successful at bringing in retirees, golfers, and casino tourists when we worked at it (which we haven't done since the previous administration came into power at City Hall). 

Building a soccer tent on the outskirts of town isn't anywhere close to being the best use of money we don't have.  The delay to get bids and develop a plan is prudent, but an additional waste of time and money if it is simply used as the justification to go forward with an idea that just doesn't seem likely to succeed.

We would be better served to use that time to get together with local business owners and leaders, including the casino heads, and develop our own comprehensive long range plan.  A Mesquite plan, instead of trying to ram ideas cooked up by out-of-towners down the throats of citizens and businesses.  Again, we're collectively smarter here than our "public servants" give us credit for.