BU success may mean bad news for its neighbors
"Valley-dation?" Hardly.
The
I'm listening to
I believe I made this point on someone else's blog ... this is the worst thing that could happen to BU. Bradley ended the season with a mediocre won/loss record. They played inconsistently throughout the season. Is the Missouri Valley Conference stronger than it usually is? Yes. Did it deserve to have six teams in the tourney, instead of the four that were invited, as Snell says. No. That's laughable. Snell is a paid employee of Bradley and an unabashed booster. He's not just on the bandwagon, he makes his living driving the damn thing.
Because of two tournament victories -- and because of the praise the compliant local media is shoveling -- fans are left with an unrealistic expectation of future success, especially next season.
I'll wait until next year before jumping to the conclusion that the MVC deserves as many entries into the NCAA tournament as the ACC, for example.
And here's why this year's success is bad news for BU's neighbors. BU wants to build a sports complex and additional parking on its campus, and it wants to do it on land now occupied by homes in Peoria's Arbor District neighborhood. In fact, the university is busy buying up homes in the area.
It's my understanding that wealthy alumni have even seen plans for such a facility.
Alumni are always more generous when the sports teams are successful. And winning teams always engender feelings of loyalty in the surrounding community. So it's now going to be easier for Bradley University to raise money to build the thing and harder for the powers-that-be to say "no" to changes in the city's "institutional use" ordinance, which is supposed to keep BU from spreading further into the residential neighborhoods than it already has spread.
It's just hard for me to get all emotional and excited about the sports success of a powerful and influential local institution with the long-term goal of putting people out of their homes so they can attract a wealthier class of students who demand more and classier amenities than the college now can offer.
Crossposted at Peoria Pundit.
5 comments:
Hi Dennis.
I am someone who
1) teaches at Bradley and
2) lives in the Arbor District (on Cooper Street)
About the basketball season: I agree that the team started poorly. But remember that the coach was hired with very little coaching experience. So, while the coach knows basketball inside and out, it took him a good long while to find out that most players simply don't have the firey attitude that he had.
Hence, he had to learn how to coach. I think that he came of age after his team was soundly whipped by Wichita State this season; he made the proper adjustments.
What does this mean for the future? Time will tell; remember that there was a time when the previous coach was doing well.
About the Arbor District: ok, I love living there as it is close to everything and I can easily walk to work; for me it is 5 minutes from out of my door to into my office door; maybe 7-8 mintues if it is snowy.
But, the neighborhood is slowly becoming more unlivable by the semester. More and more families have moved out (being in Manual's district is a real problem) and more and more of the houses have become student housing.
Though the students haven't had that many loud parties, the students still make quite a bit of racket as the walk from house to house at night. Adding to this is the way the housing is constructed: sound really carries.
So, thought I really hate to say this, the Arbor district is already headed downhill anyway.
The city council memembers have tried; for example Barbara Van Auken has showed up and personally sworn out some noise complaints.
But I don't see this trend reversing itself.
Interesting.
A libertarian is attempting to use zoning ordinances against a private entity.
I'm nominating this for worst post of the year so far...and that's saying something.
I would rag on Peoria Pundit for his never failing to keep us up-to-date on the amazingly inane, but then again, you have to remember that he lives in Peoria.
Go Redbirds!
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