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Reunion Area Dilemma
The Dallas City Council will vote on whether or not to close Reunion Arena at the end of this month or keep it open until another solution is found. One of those solutions could be renting the facility to a "mega" church and charge rent for its' use or selling the facility to real estate speculators. The facility is losing money and costing the city at least $1 million dollars a year.
An economic development committee has come to the conclusion the facility should close but I believe all of the alternatives have not been explored. This facility should be part of a city strategy to bring sports and other attractions to Dallas. The American Airlines Center has a monopoly on events in Dallas with a first right of refusal for any event and this aspect of their agreement with the city has literally destroyed the prospect of a profitable Reunion.
I have proposed the creation of a sports authority for Dallas. The city has sports assets that can be used to bring events to the city. The Cotton Bowl and Reunion Arena are wasted assets for Dallas unless a plan is created. Dallas is a sports town and we are losing jobs and revenue because these two facilities are not being used properly.
If the city does not create a sports authority soon it will continue to lose sporting events to the suburbs and they will gain notiriety and revenue that could be in Dallas. Tax revenue in Dallas can be greatly enhanced if we have more activity at these facilities. Our hotels will benefit because tourism and new convention business will come here.
The city needs to be careful when it decides to close Reunion. If the city decides to sell valuable real estate near downtown Dallas. it could be sorry in the future. The new convention center hotel is an example of how expensive land can become when the city has a need. This property may not be profitable at this time but we need to consider whether or not it should be retained simply for future use.
The answer to the Reunion Arena dilemma is not solved by simply closing the facility. In the interim renting the facility appears to be the best option. The future, however, will be in a real plan for this and other obsolete sports venues in Dallas.