The remnants of Hurricane Ike devastated Floyd and surrounding counties in September 2008, including a shredding of the decades-old yellow amphitheater covering. The same winds have blown new life into the New Albany Riverfront. It will take leadership and effort to keep it from dying out.
After the storms, New Albany Mayor Doug England combined insurance money, riverboat funds approved by the City Council and a $390,000 donation from the Clark-Floyd Counties Convention and Tourism Bureau, to purchase a permanent awning to protect New Albany’s outdoor venue. The cost was $700,000.
In our opinion, it was money well spent.
Had Ike not ripped up the old cloth awning, the riverfront would likely still have an old, dilapidated look that was more depressing than inspiring. However, the work on the Ohio River Greenway combined with the new stage and shell has proven the waterfront can be a draw. Now, it’s up to the city’s leaders and all of you reading this to keep it going.
The crowds have shown up — mostly on July 3 for fireworks and Ambrosia and last weekend for Celtic Fest. Downtown business traffic also increased. The weekly concert series on Friday nights has had its high and low points but more time to plan in 2010 will help ensure more consistently appealing events next summer. But the success so far has proven that people will come downtown. As a downtown community business and a media sponsor of this summer’s series of events, The Tribune is hoping that the crowds only grow to larger numbers.
In order to ensure long-term success, we’d like to offer some suggestions for discussion.
• Utilize corporate sponsorship funds. It may seem tacky to some to sell the naming rights but doing so can help generate some solid startup money to make further improvements (like replacing and updating the generic “welcome” rocks) and pay for bigger talent.
• City leaders either quickly need to authorize a formal riverfront entertainment committee or contract an experienced and successful company that specializes in event planning in exchange for some of the revenue brought in by events.
• Keep as many events as possible free to the public but don’t rule out those revenue streams such as charging vendors to be present. Downtown businesses will want and need to capitalize on the traffic. One destination doesn’t make a vibrant district.
• Promote it! This is something New Albany does not do well currently. For this riverfront to grow it’s going to be necessary to get the word out to people that may not be in the city or downtown that often. This doesn’t have to be expensive if planned well and done creatively.
• It’s a levee. Get over it! Just like the shortage of bridges, let’s take the fact that there’s a big land mass blocking the view of the water and play off it with some humor and creativity. In Buffalo, there are thousands of T-shirts sold with the slogan: “It’s Buffalo. It snows. Get over it!” New Albany actually hosts several of Southern Indiana’s largest marketing companies. Let’s tap into some of that knowledge.
The public has complained for years about not having a viable riverfront. Those days are over. The summer of 2009 has proven New Albany’s riverfront is alive and well.
Our Opinion editorials are consensus viewpoints of the editorial board of The (New Albany) Tribune
EDITORIAL BOARD Steve Kozarovich, publisher & executive editor; Chris Morris, region editor; Mary Tuttle, display advertising manager
