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May 29, 2007
 
ACC Hall of Champions Belongs Downtown
 
In her enduring single’s hit recorded in the 1960s, Petula Clark sang that all of life’s pleasures could be found “Downtown.”
While some pleasures can now be found in downtown Greensboro, thanks to visionary revitalization efforts, it is premature and short-sighted to divert tourist attractions to High Point Road.

That’s why the idea to purchase the Canada Dry building for the future home of the Atlantic Coast Conference Hall of Champions should quietly fizzle. This kind of sports tourism attraction rightfully belongs downtown where it would create a synergy with cultural and heritage tourism attractions such as the International Civil Rights Center and Museum.

Other cities can serve as models for action and guidance on where Greensboro should locate the ACC Hall. Charlotte put the NASCAR Hall of Fame downtown near its convention center instead of the Charlotte Motor Speedway miles away. The NCCA Hall of Champions is located in downtown Indianapolis.

In fact, the similarities between Greensboro and Indianapolis are striking. Greensboro leaders would be wise to study Indianapolis’ progress and adopt its downtown focus and regional outlook. If they did, perhaps they would see the wisdom of placing the ACC Hall downtown and of hastening the completion of the civil rights museum.

Greensboro is the “Gate City” entrance to the South, and Indianapolis is the “Crossroads of America” entrance to the Midwest. Indianapolis is served by major interstates, rail transportation, and an international airport with a major FedEx hub, much like Greensboro. Founded just 13 years after Greensboro in 1821, Indianapolis is well known as a city with a strong sports reputation, having hosted major events such as the 1987 Pan American Games, the NCAA Basketball Tournament and with more notoriety, the Indianapolis 500. It has hosted the men's and women's NCAA Final Four as well the semifinals and final several times, and as of 2006 the NCAA is holding the Women's Final Four in Indianapolis at least once every five years.

Adding a state of the art running track, it’s also known as the “Track Capital” of the U.S. It was the city’s strong sports reputation and the promise of a dynamic downtown location that helped it win the NCAA Hall of Champions from Kansas City in the mid-1990s where the NCAA had its headquarters.

As Greensboro struggles to separate itself from its manufacturing past and create a new image, Indianapolis faced a similar challenge. It severed its old ties to auto and smokestack industries and reversed the decline and flight to the suburbs suffered in the 1970s and ‘80s. It began its revitalization in the 1990s with an innovative public/private partnership that transformed a crime-ridden, deteriorating urban neighborhood, peppered with vacant lots, into a thriving mixed-residential neighborhood. Another significant development was that of a downtown mall.

Now the city is experiencing growth in the hospitality industry with a new convention center addition and a new high-rise hotel. The list of downtown accommodations and restaurants continues to grow. Through community and government cooperation and smart strategic thinking, the city managed to escape a has-been, Rust Belt reputation.
Like Greensboro, Indianapolis is also home to many colleges and universities and prides itself on its rich cultural heritage. The city has designated six official Cultural Districts. It boasts a children’s museum, art museums, and a Civil War museum, and of course, the NCAA Hall of Champions.

The revitalization of Indianapolis provides a great model for success. It’s ironic Guilford County officials want to see the old county jail expanded into a new building downtown and not on the outskirts of the center city, while others want to see a new ACC Hall of Champions moved into an old building on the downtown’s outskirts and not into a new one in the hear of the city. Exactly what kind of tourist does Greensboro want?

Let’s not jump into a hasty decision that offers limited potential for High Point Road, and let’s focus on finishing downtown Greensboro which offers greater potential for all of Guilford County and the Triad.
 
Op-ed piece submitted by Patterson Partners Inc. to the Greensboro News and Record, published May 29, 2007.