Style Weekly
Matthew B. Davey
Member since Jan 17, 2012
Recent Comments
Re: “Activists Take Ballpark Protest to the Ballpark”
A stadium in Shockoe would do nothing but draw attention to the City's historic and entertainment district of Shockoe Valley. It would in fact help bring people to the "bottom" (such an awful name) where they could tour the sites, visit Lumpkin Jail, take a stroll down the Slave Trail, and remember the history. The site that the stadium would go on is right now is bare ground and just a couple falling down old Lovings Produce buildings. The African American sites would not be affected at all by the Stadium. As for transportation, when developments happen, plans are made for traffic concerns. This will most certainly be addressed in any plan to build a stadium in Shockoe. And to think of the revenue that would be created by a successful entertainment district that brings in tourism and sporting events. This revenue could go to upgrading our schools and paving our roads. The Boulevard would be best utilized as a retail district which would also bring in revenue for schools and roads. Both of these ideas together would be great for our city. Swapping the ideas and keeping the Diamond where it is while trying to make Shockoe a historic district without entertainment would be a failure and a hindrance to progression.
Re: “Bottom Ballpark, Redux”
Mr. Hammond,
It seems you and I need to have lunch. We agree in a lot of areas. Tourism is the 3rd largest industry in providing tax revenue and employment to the City of Richmond and the Commonwealth of Virginia. Shockoe Bottom is the lynch-pin that is missing from taking RVA tourism to the next level. The ground work and historic neighborhood is already there, now we just need to capitalize on it and make things happen. Of course there are nay sayers out there, but we have been analyzing the Bottom's value for years and comparing it to other cities of similar interests. People like us need to stick together and be the voice of the people who know this thing will benefit us all. Thank you for your perseverance!
Re: “Bottom Ballpark, Redux”
mrRVA is not to be confused with @MrRVAtourism who fully supports a stadium in the Bottom. See his blog at mrrvatourism.blogspot.com!
Re: “Charlie Diradour to Run for Council”
Other than his opposition for a Shockoe Bottom stadium, I'm all for Charlie running. Although, I do wish he was running in a different district, for I am also a supporter of Charles Samuels. It's going to be a tough decision for me, but then again, I don't live in the district. I will say though that the entire city's focus needs to be on Shockoe Bottom, because that is the heart of the city that needs to be revitalized with a sports and entertainment complex. Let Shockoe have a Stadium and an Arena. Sell the Diamond, sell the Coliseum, sell the City Stadium. They are worthless! Shockoe Bottom is where are culture needs to be centered. The time to act is now, before the Squirrels leave town just as the Braves did!
Re: “First Mayoral Candidate Says Tourism Is the Answer”
Funny, the information regarding Rick's interest in increasing tourists seems to be a direct quote from the facebook.com/rvaabcordinance page as it references Savannah:
RVA ABC Ordinance
As we are getting more information from Savannah, they just gave us some numbers. Note: Savannah's Alcoholic Beverage Ordinance was enacted in 1998. From 1999 to 2009, the number of visitors in the City of Savannah doubled from 5.15M to 11.2M while revenue increased from 906M to 1.6B. More information to come!
Like · · Share · October 7, 2011 at 6:14pm
Please be sure to see like the page and see how its grassroots campaign aims to help the nightlife industry, a vital part to Richmond's tourism industry!
Re: “Anchors Aweigh: City Wants Sailboats in Byrd Park”
Rocketts Landing and Brown's Island's Haxall Canal. This would be more appropriate in these locations. Thanks!
Other Publications
Re: “Activists Take Ballpark Protest to the Ballpark”
Mr. Wilayto, The subject of slavery is such a touchy subject and I believe it shouldn't be. I am of the younger generation that is ready to learn from it and move on. We grew up with our schools already integrated, where making friends with members of another race was never an issue. Though your idea of making Richmond a landmark to Slavery has some merit, I must disagree. I went to the Civil Rights Museum in Memphis this past spring. It was in an area of town that seemed to once be a viable part of Memphis, but this was no more. There were people outside, mostly African American, protesting the museum asking them to instead spend their money on fixing the schools rather than the museum. The City of Memphis is predominantly African American and nothing gets done because people dwell in the past. Its like the black people in Memphis fought so hard to integrate everything but then want to fight to segregate everything again. So, we could keep Shockoe entirely in the past or we could find a way to generate more revenue to pay for education and progress from the past. We can find a way to make our schools better for the African American population in our city and get away from that part of history that tries to divide us. The Lumpkin Jail Site is still there and it will be kept safe. A Slave Museum is, from what I understand, going to be built next to it to connect with the Slave Trail. When they are all completed, I will be at the ribbon cutting ceremony and I will frequent those sites because I think it's important to remember how far we have come. But we do not need to make all of a Shockoe a memorial to something so negative. If that were the case, all of Rome would be a museum to European Slavery, all of Berlin would be a museum to the Holocaust. Again, these might be touchy subjects, but we need to move forward from the things that once brought us down and progress. I sincerely apologize if my statements offend anyone as they are not my intention. I just want to see progress for education, progress for transportation, and progress for tourism in Richmond.