Does Bangor need a new $30 million auditorium?

The Bangor City Council has decided to close the Bangor Auditorium in 2004.

On Dec. 11, I attended a workshop presented by the Bangor City Council and the Special Committee on the Future of the Auditorium titled, “Bass Park Corridor Land Use Alternatives,” where a consultant hired by the city of Bangor presented various designs on how to build a new $30 million, 6,000-plus seat arena with a parking lot for 1,500 vehicles in Bass Park while the current facility remained open. These criteria, especially the stipulation that the current auditorium has to remain open while the new arena is built, will effectively put an end to more than 100 years of harness racing and the Bangor State Fair at Bass Park.

The citizens of Bangor deserve a healthy debate on whether or not we need a new $30 million auditorium. Bangor is a city of 30,000 people, which is projected to decline to 25,000 in the near future. We already have access to excellent entertainment and sporting events at the Maine Center for the Arts and the Alfond Arena. Do we really need to spend $30 million of our money on a new arena that will duplicate serves already available? Given $30 million, are there other options that would be better economic and social investments for current and future citizens of Bangor? The current auditorium costs the taxpayers of Bangor $500,000 a year. Who is going to pay to maintain the new arena?

We deserve an open debate on the future of Bass Park itself. At least one design alternative should have been developed that did not include a new arena, but instead returned Bass Park to the citizens of Bangor to be used “for public park purposes” as Joseph Bass had originally intended.

Why not envision the future of Bass Park along the lines of some of the country’s great public parks (Boston Common, Central Park, Grant Park), a park which would showcase Bangor’s rich history and improve the livability of surrounding neighborhoods? Ideas worth pursuing would include showcasing the history of Bass Park and the history of Bangor, restoring the fairgrounds and grandstand, planting trees, adding trails, expanding the equestrian facilities to host regional and national horse shows, adding athletic fields, providing carriage rides through Bass Park down to the riverfront, and building an historical museum. In short, making Bass Park a public place for the people of

Bangor that will showcase Bangor’s rich history and will serve as a magnet to attract visitors to the area.

A recent survey by the Travel Industry Association of America ranked the top 10 activities among domestic travelers in 1999. Historical places/museums and cultural events ranked third and fourth, respectively, behind shopping and outdoor recreation. By taking advantage of our rich natural and cultural history, Bangor has the opportunity to attract the thousands and thousands of tourists traveling past Bangor on their way to their vacation destinations. Building a new 6,000-plus seat arena with a parking lot for 1,500 vehicles and a new entrance on Buck Street will not only have a detrimental effect on surrounding neighborhoods, it will also forfeit the historical value of Bass Park itself.

As a taxpayer and citizen of Bangor, before I could support a local options sales tax to finance a new arena, I would like to see the following:

. a detailed economic analysis regarding the construction of a new auditorium, including the effects of decreased property values in surrounding neighborhoods and the lost opportunity of developing Bass Park into a historical and cultural area;

. a trade-off analysis of spending $30 million (Is a new arena the best bang-for-the-buck? What else could we do with $30 million);

. the development of an alternative design that would return Bass Park to the citizens of Bangor for “public park purposes” and be used to attract tourism; and

. the exploration of a convention/conference center in the downtown area as an alternative to a new arena.

A conference and convention center is very different than an arena. A conference and convention center would attract people from all around the country, not just regionally. People attending conferences and conventions will stay in the area for an extended period of time, will stay at our hotels and will eat in our restaurants. Cities around the country have built new conference/convention facilities (e.g. Minneapolis, San Diego, Tampa Bay). Providence decided not to rebuild their civic center, but to build a new convention center instead. Although these are larger cities, Bangor has much to offer conference and convention organizers. The ideal location for a convention/conference center in Bangor would be a location within walking distance to hotels and restaurants and have access to parking.

Because such a center would require much less area than an arena, why not explore the downtown area? A conference and convention center would be much less expensive to build, would be financially self-sustaining, would be tremendous for downtown business, and would lead to the continued re-development of the downtown area. The Camden Conference has given the Camden-Rockland area a tremendous boost economically as well as intellectually.

As Mayor Michael Crowley stated recently, we should look to the future and not be constrained by the past. I agree wholeheartedly. I think that building a $30 million, 6,000-plus seat arena with a 1,500 vehicle park lot in a historically significant area would be a nod to the past. Let’s build Bangor into a city that people want to move to, not from. A city where people will want to work and live, not just work. Let’s celebrate and showcase our rich history and invest wisely in our future.

John Kenney lives in Bangor.