The Farmville Herald Editorial
PLEASE NOTE:
The editorial below ran in the March 17, 2006 edition of The Farmville Herald.
Reprint permission courtesy of The Farmville Herald.
If You Build
A Civic Center…
They will come, Otis Brown. Most surely, they will come, Ken Copeland. If the off-campus civic center proposed by Brown and Copeland is constructed for Longwood and the community to share, they will most definitely come. People by the thousands, to see concerts, to see basketball games, to attend tradeshows, conventions, science fairs.
What an economic catalyst a civic center would be for the entire area. This is a tremendous opportunity to set this community apart in a way that nothing else could so readily or emphatically achieve.
Hey, with nothing big enough on campus to seal the deal Longwood University still nearly inked Billy Joel to perform on campus, according to Tim Pierson, LU’s Dean of Students.
This is no pipe dream. Bob Dylan regularly performs at the Salem Civic Center. Dylan in Farmville? Don’t think twice, it’s alright.
The ODAC basketball Tournament, too? Quite possibly.
Mr. Brown, President of the Longwood Real Estate Foundation, and Mr. Copeland, executive director of the Foundation and economic development for LU, have been working on their concept for about 18 months and hope the community is willing to consider ways it can partner with Longwood University and the real estate foundation to make this dream a reality.
LU must replace Willett Hall as part of its transition to NCAA Division I and Longwood will build a new basketball arena on campus, and soon, unless the off-campus civic center concept becomes a reality. This is an opportunity that should not be allowed to pass. The time is now. Creativity, imagination and perseverance can succeed in developing a financial package to construct the civic center—federal funds and tobacco commission money, for example, are both genuine possibilities. Local government support could easily come in the Town of Farmville raising and dedicating a portion of its hotel and motel room tax to the project, which would be done without expense to local taxpayers.
The biggest obstacle to construction of a civic center will be those naysayers who think this community is too small for a civic center, too small to attract major concerts and events.
The thinking behind any such naysaying is what’s too small. The community isn’t too small. As Brown and Copeland point out, between Lynchburg and Hampton Roads along the US 460 corridor there is no facility that seats as many as 5,000 people. A civic center here able to seat 5,000-6,000 for Longwood’s basketball games and 7,500-8,000 for concerts would be the equivalent of a great big bull’s-eye for people across a wide region looking for something to do and promoters seeking venues for their attractions. And this community is so accessible, getting here so hassle-free.
If you build a civic center, they will come Farmville. They will come Prince Edward. They will come Buckingham and Cumberland. They will come Virginia’s Heartland. They will most certainly come.
During a recent presentation on the proposal, Brown asked if there was anything wrong with the concept. No, nothing at all. Nothing but the fact it’s a concept and not yet a reality.
Let’s make it happen.
Don’t think twice, it’s alright.
—JKW—
