The recent news that Kalamazoo is planning on building a brand new 320,000-square-foot event center in downtown Kalamazoo has been met with some mixed reviews. The plans are starting to come out and already people are weighing in on how they feel about this new event center.

The city is hoping that once it’s completed, it will be able to host more than 230 events per year and generate over $54 million annually, most of which will be helping out the local economy. Currently, the land on which this event Center will sit is on multiple vacated parking lots.
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As far as I am concerned, I worry about places like Arcadia Creek Festival Place, and the Wings Event Center in the Kalamazoo County Expo Center. My hope is that there’s a new arena that doesn’t negatively impact the staples of the community. Other people are being a lot blunter with how they feel about it and the city of Kalamazoo’s Facebook post:
No one IN kalamazoo wants this. It’s failed 4 referendums. How is the county making this a fait accompli??? No one in kalamazoo city or county supports this!

On The Other Hand

Artists like Dooley on the other hand feel this could be a great opportunity for the local music scene:

SO many jobs for folks like me and those in other industries, and the space is just dirt parking lots right now. Not to mention the foot traffic to downtown business owners and the enormous amount of tourism this will bring to a city worth visiting.

Here's what Kalamazoo residents are saying about it:

How Kalamazoo Residents Feel About The New $300 Million Stadium

 

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