New arena in Wichita--the old one dies ungracefully

From

Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner;

With the new Intrust Bank Arena, in Wichita, we now have an aging and dilapidating dinosaur on our hands, The Kansas Coliseum.

The people who forced a vote on the new arena wanted voters to think the new facility would save them money over fixing the old coliseum. The coliseum has been and still is in need of repairs. So the votes did not save so much money by building something new. The Wichita, Sedgwick County Commissioners now has to decide what they will do with this aging and dilapidating building.

According to The Wichita Eagle;

"For every day the old Coliseum site remains a ghost town, Sedgwick County loses the potential of 1,000 jobs and an annual $10 million in tourist-generated revenue," (District 5 commissioner Gwen ) Welshimer said in a campaign "concept" she released this week”

Ideas of a Rodeo resort, shopping malls and other uses were also discussed by the commissioners Again, according to The Wichita Eagle;

“The Kansas Coliseum Pavilions, used for horse and dog shows, swap meets and other events, will remain open through 2016. But the rest of the complex — Britt Brown Arena, the RV park and the grounds — are barren. The county mothballed Britt Brown earlier this year and recently made repairs to the north parking lot.

The entire site is valued at $22 million, and whoever wins three seats on the SedgwickCounty Commission will have a say in its future. One candidate wants to focus on rodeos; another wants to give voters another shot at approving slot machines.”

Both the City and County commissioners have had a long history of tearing down old buildings to put up new ones or parking lots. This is a part of the country that likes to put a building up fast then build a newer one while the old one rots away. The historical Allis hotel was demolished in 1996. By the time they destroyed it, their neglect and the looting of all its fixtures made it worthless. Later the Wichita City Council wanted to move the Kansas African American Museum, Which sits in a historical Church. Moving it, to expand the jail, would have meant taking it of the National Register of Historic Places list.

The local politicians have paid little attention to old buildings in the SedgwickCounty, Wichita area and have listened only to developers who want to make a fast buck. Therefore we are leaving very few architectural treasures for our future generations.