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Community Corner

Face facts: market just won't support Bankhead Theater

"Market simply won't support the Bankhead

The arts and culture groups are gnashing their teeth over audience shortfalls and even bigger money problems.

These folks just aren't looking at the situation in a businesslike manner. Let's say I had put up a five hundred-room hotel in downtown Livermore four years ago. People just didn't want to stay at my nice hotel. The occupancy rate was rarely above 60 percent, which meant that I could not even make my debt payments, let alone make money.

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If I proceeded like the LVPAC wanted to do in Livermore, I would add 1,500 more rooms and expand my hotel. Then I could attract even more customers because my hotel is even BIGGER and better. But it didn't work out. My occupancy rate now is barely 30 percent. As a business, I would not have any chance to have city and county governments bail me out. So ... I would just face reality that people do not want to stay in my hotel. I would try to sell it to a bigger fool than I am.

My suggestion to Livermore is to try to get donations to keep afloat. If that doesn't work out, do NOT go to government to get bail out money. I do NOT want a parcel tax or a sales tax increase. Just face the reality that Livermore is not ready or geared to culture and arts in a big enough way.

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Sell the Bankhead and the Bothwell to an Indian tribe, and let them open a casino. That will put Livermore on the map in a big way, will boost the Livermore wine business, and may even reduce taxes!"

Brian Roberts

Livermore landlord Pleasanton

 

 

This is a copy of the letter I see in the newspaper about this Bankhead issues and I agrees with it and have posted it with the quote and the attributions to the person that write it.

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