Word rand. Thank God Denver isn't a "suburban city" like Dallas or L.A. Considering the fact that the vast majority of Denver's attactions/museums/ stadiums are the downtown area, it makes complete sense that the SSS should be downtown as well. The SSS needs to visable to all whenever they drive by on I-25 or come into downtown on Auraria Parkway. No more cow town come 2006- we'll even have a stadium for the world's game...... I love it.
No argument from me... Hosscat, there's a few other threads that touch on this subject. So far, it's running about 20 to 1 in favor of putting the stadium downtown.
No more cowtown??? I don't think so... that's all in the mind. Most people here, STILL don't understand why they built the airport so far away... Denver is a suburban city like Dallas or LA, we still have an underdeveloped Rapid Transit system, and continue to cry about paying taxes for services... COWTOWN...
Denver still has a cowtown element sometimes, but the city has come a long way in the last decade or so...... Let me get this straight, you're ripping on Denver for being a suburban cowtown and you live in Fort Collins? Hmm.... How is that Fort Collins subway? P.S. The Hammers suck worse than the Spurs
yeah, having maintained residence in Denver since '84, I wouldn't have a clue as to the goings-on... Did anyone mention the Hammers or the Spurs? Or are you just stretching for something to make yourself feel better? YES MY FRIEND, DENVER HAS MADE MANY STRIDES OVER THE PAST DECADE (To the objection of most of its residents, I remind you!)... but you said "NO MORE COWTOWN" You're wrong... The "Location" I'm currently in, is irrelevant to your crappy conclusion of "Hey we're getting a soccer stadium, therefore, Denver is no longer a cowtown" We probably agree on the sentiments, and you're probably just guilty of wording your thoughts poorly. But please, stop acting like Sheriff Beehan from Tombstone... *Yessir! We are a growin'! Be just a big as San Fransisco in a few years, the die has been cast!...*
Have you been to Dallas or LA? They are so much more suburban sprawl than Denver it is not even close, there is no comparison. In Denver you can get across the "metro area" in an hour. In LA and Dallas you can't go 25 miles in an hour. Traffic obviously changes this in all cities but the point is the same. In addition, Denver has a more comprehensive transit system then Dallas. I don't think Texans know what a bus is.
Grew up in LA, and don't ever want to go back to Dallas... The idea was to point out that Denver is committing the same mistakes LA DID... It is without a doubt an awful trait of Western American thinking. Denver is sprawling at an alarming rate... This is all so off topic, I guess we can discuss this in the politics forum if you want to, because that is where the debate will eventually run... But Denver still has a cowtown mentality, and no SSS is going to change that...
Sure you can. Especially when you're trying not to miss kickoff at the HDC after you've missed your earlier flight, you're in a fully insured rental, the guy riding shotgun has been pounding free screwdrivers in first class all morning and you've got innate aggressive driving tendences.
Thanks to all, not just the above, for excessive use of generalization throughout this thread. With the exception of greenie. mmmmmmm........screwdrivers.
Who cares if Denver is a cowtown? Isn't that what makes it unique? Skitown/mountaintown/cowtown, who gives a crap as long as butts are in the seats passionately supporting the Rapids. In general, the best supported teams tend to be in places that aren't considered the most cosmopolitan locations. Nebraska football, SEC football, ACC basketball. LA can't even maintain an NFL franchise. Just look at the Broncos. Probably the best supported team in the NFL with the exception of the Packers, but as Denver has grown and changed, the support for the Broncos has changed. Some would say the New Mile High hasn't helped either, but Broncos fans aren't as passionate as they used to be. An SSS will not change Denver's status as a cowtown, but it may bring in a passionate new wave of fans. I'm hoping it does.
one thing is for sure, you guys have some pimped out sports facilities (Invesco, Coors, Pepsi)...and hopefully the new Rapids stadium
Broncos have no Elway, no thunderous metal stadium, and increased ticket prices. Meanwhile, the Pack is owned by the residents of Green Bay. Instant pride.
For God's sake..... No more cowtown/not a cowtown talk. Next to San Fran and possibly Portland, Denver has the best (or will have after T-REX) public transportation west of Chicago. We've been fortunate at have much better city planning than other western cities like LA and Dallas. Why even live here if you're such a critic of Denver HIF? Cut D-town some slack and be happy you don't live in Texas/the land of Dubya. I would agree that "Invesco Field at Mile High" (I still cringe when I hear that name) doesn't hold a candle to the old Mile High. Going to Broncos games at Invesco often feels like you're out on a corporate retreat rather than a football game. If you're a guy and you need to take a piss, you end up missing about an entire quarter of the game since the line is so damn long at them fancy urinals-it really makes you miss the old horse troughs. Just about the only thing that's better about the new stadium is the fact that it's slightly better for soccer (the old Mile High was a great place to watch the Broncos, but a terrible place to watch the other football).
Don't get out much, do you? Even with the new light rail that results from t-rex, the "regional" transportaion that RTD serves is a joke. Variety of bus and light rail routes/options out here pale in comparison to many other cities the west, including Phoenix, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego, Dallas, Houston, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Vancouver (darn canadians and their transportation)... about the only major city I can't speak for is Salt Lake. For that matter, Honolulu had a better bus system in the 80s than Denver does today. Not that this is a fault of the city. Far too many stubborn single-driver commuters would simply never take advantage of a good system out here no matter how diverse. Heaven forbid you're ever downtown past midnight on a weekend in need of public transportation.
Welman(sp?) is planning a trip to the KC game. The cost is $25, leaving Saturday morning and be back by Sunday night. He has to turn in the money by Monday the 30th of September. For info call the Rapids and ask for Oscar Franco.
I'm sorry but a lot of you guys here are SPOILED. Try living in Columbus, OH....THAT'S a cowtown!! The residents love to live and wallow in their own mediocrity and do absoleutly nothing to help expand and grow their city. Look at how many ballot issues residents there have rejected regarding building sports venues, building public transportation, bringing in new business, etc. Living here in Denver kicks ass because this city is a city on the move! Look at all the stuff goin on right now: -Colorado convention center expansion -TONS of new condos being built along the central platte river valley -New downtown hotel going up -Denver Union station being completely renovated (www.denverunionstation.org) -TREX -New skyscrapers going up (http://www.denvercityscape.50megs.com/index.html) -And the RTD fastracks program if it goes through (check out rtd-denver.com for more info) This city kicks ass, and it's only getting bigger and better. People here who are saying that our public transporation sucks and that no one uses public transportation..well....must not use public transporation themselves! I take the bus to get downtown for school almost everyday...it's faster taking the bus and then the light rail in the morning than driving my car. Before you guys knock ideas and whatnot, why don't you try them first?
Well, I guess if you got to live in a big city, then you can do a lot worse than Denver. And it will only get better in a couple of years when we're sitting at Frontier Airlines Field, eating a Mexican hamburger from the Chubby Burger stand, washing it down with a Fat Tire Ale, and watching the Rapids beat the crap out of San Diego Chivas.
Another interesting project right next to the downtown library (already wierd looking) next to the unusual Denver Art Museum (castle looking) building will be the new expansion Hamilton building. Throw in a Soccer Specific Stadium and I'm in heaven! Damn I love this place.
Well, if you want to add stuff, you might want to mention that you can drive for half an hour and be in the mountains. And don't forget America's best airport, an unappreciated gem on 55 square miles that's getting ready for major expansion.
Damn that thing is ugly. Looks like a huge iceberg fell from the sky. Where are they putting this "explosion of glass and titanium"? Just to the south of the library, across 13th?
And don't forget Stapleton, America's largest inner-city development project. When they're finished with that place, it's going to be awesome.
Don't forget that if FasTracks passes next year, there will also be a new COMMUTER (not light rail) rail line that will be going from the airport directly to downtown and stopping in stapleton on the way there. That's just one of the many new rail lines that will be going up all throughout the metro area if FasTracks passes. Denver rules...period.
I don't think anyone here is arguing that point... hell no. My only umbrage within this thread is that public transportation has a long way to go, both in terms of what's available as well as the public's use of it. Among cities of similar size, Denver was just rated as having the worst traffic. Even compared with the "super cities" Denver still managed to sneak into the top 10. Don't get me wrong, I love public transportation too and even though I work out of the house I use it all the time. When I slaved for The Man, I took the bus between Boulder and Denver every day. Unfortunately, the populace of Metro Denver isn't overly fond of public transportation, no matter how fast, cost-effective, convenient and clean it may be. For that matter, Denverites aren't even too fond of carpooling. Gotta drive those SUVs single-handedly, dontchaknow. I'd like to hope that the Rapids stadium will be built in a location that will work with existing or near-future mass-transit systems, particularly light rail. Leading businesses and attractions are extremely important when it comes to increasing public awareness and adoption of things like public transportation.
All this talk is making me miss my hometown **sniff**... I agree that Denver's public transportation needs to catch up. The bus system has never been popular, unfortunately, because it's actually not a bad system. Maybe it's the stigma of riding a bus. With the exception of the Denver/Boulder line that seems to be always packed, there were few other routes that are widely utilized, especially in Arapahoe county where 2 SUV's per family seems to be the norm. Besides, in a bus, you are subject to the flow of traffic, so the thinking is always, I could just be driving... Light rail seems to be gaining popularity and the line that runs on Santa Fe down to Mineral has proven that public transportation when it's efficient and faster than a driving commute can convince Denverites to use it. After looking at the plans that they have put together for expanding the light rail and commuter rail (FasTracks) maybe Denver will catch up to some of the better cities in the country (NY, Chicago...) in terms of public transportation. Well, Denver will never be NY or Chicago, but hopefully, public transportation will be a real option for a large part of the metro population. And with all that said, an SSS next to one of these routes is a must. If you can minimize the residual costs of going to a game (parking, sitting in traffic, etc...) people are more likely to go.