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Winona is beginning the design process for a facility that would serve as home to all things Winona from the Winona State University basketball program to the Minnesota Beethoven Festival to the Great River Shakespeare Festival to a traveling swap meet.
With $250,000 in the bank, let the designing begin.
But before we rush to unveil plans and dreams, let’s stop for a moment to consider city councilmember Deb Salyards’ concerns. She put common sense before excitement when she voted against the study for a new facility.
She didn’t vote against it to be a curmudgeon or ogre. A bed-and-breakfast owner certainly knows the value of tourism and being a destination. Instead, her concerns centered on whether one facility could serve that many interests well.
That’s a great point.
While we think a new venue for basketball or arts makes a lot of sense, a multi-purpose facility that can host all of these events might not host any of them well.
History and about 100 miles would prove that.
Let’s take a look at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, an all-weather, multi-purpose facility. By trying to be a good facility for everything, it’s simply awful. And for the past couple of years, you can see city after city abandoning multi-purpose facilities in favor of smaller, individual venues tailored to specific arts or entertainment.
Funds are limited and that’s precisely the reason that we should invest and do the job correctly.
But maybe it doesn’t have to be an either-or proposition.
In landlocked Winona, it doesn’t make sense to have different facilities, all with parking needs, all needing mundane things like bathrooms. There’s simply not room and there’s simply not the resources.
Instead, what about designing a facility that has several different venues under one roof? What about a sports complex that has an arena, plus a couple of side theaters or stages?
There are certain amenities one facility could have without being a one-size-fits-all. Box offices, parking and even behind-the-scenes equipment could all be housed in one location. But it’s hard to imagine a small intimate theater working well in the same space as a college basketball game.
Part of any study should be to look at how other communities might have built venues that serve different groups, different events and make it work. We have to believe one big oval with lots of seats just doesn’t cut it anymore. We need to be shown what is possible.
Winona is now just beginning to realize and capitalize on the arts and collegiate sports. So why not give the respective fans of arts and sports a venue that enhances what Winona has to offer rather than just providing a place that is simply and barely adequate?
While it is indeed impressive that a group of private donors has stepped forward with $5 million, it’s important to note that a multi-purpose facility would cost six times as much. That means taxpayers will likely be responsible for the majority of the bill.
With tax dollars becoming more scarce, we should make sure whatever we spend them on will be an idea that pays big dividends. And, if we’re going to invest in an idea like this, let’s do it right and let’s be innovative.
We have to worry that one facility designed to make everyone happy will leave no one satisfied.
By Darrell Ehrlick, editor, on behalf of the Winona Daily News editorial board, which also includes publisher Rusty Cunningham and online editor Jerome Christenson. To comment, call 453-3507 or send e-mail to letters@winonadailynews.com.
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