October 5, 2012

Economist: Stadium won’t do much for d’town FoCo

If it’s built, CSU’s new stadium may or may not eventually translate to profits for the university, but what the Eye would like to know is whether the city has anything to gain.

Not a lot, according to Dr. Joel Maxcy, the Temple University economist hired by the stadium’s opponents.

Maxcy’s presentation at CSU in September, which focused on the financial feasibility of the stadium, included little-noticed commentary on what he deemed “spillover effects” on the community.

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Stadium proponents aren’t going to like what he had to say:

The congestion, noise and waste likely to come with the raucous football fans may detract would-be shoppers, diners and drinkers from heading downtown on game days, according to the economist.

Game attendees will likely stay on or near campus for food and drink, benefiting the university but of little good to the city itself.

So there you have it. Let the arguing begin.

Distortions Unlimited begins season 2 of ‘Making Monsters’

Distortions Unlimited once again is scaring people with its morbid creations on the Travel Channel.

The second season of “Making Monsters” premiered Sunday on the Travel Channel. It gives viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the Greeley-based art studio that makes horror props, animatronics and masks.

The company is well-known in Northern Colorado for its baroque displays in haunted houses. Back in the 1990s, for example, the company claimed to have sold $400,000 in life-size electric chair replicas complete with flashes, smoke and crackling electric current.

The Travel Channel series follows Distortions Unlimited owners Ed and Marsha Edmunds as well as renowned Hollywood creature- and mask-maker Jordu Schell on the road.

This season, they make a red-eyed, smoke-spewing tiki in Oahu, Hawaii, and a disturbing twisting centipede in Atlanta.

The team also created a stage mask for rock band Megadeth, a 25-foot skeleton for an outdoor attraction in Baltimore and a larger-than-life Gatekeeper for Dick Van Dyke’s Southern California home.

Bass Pro Shops given incentives

The City of Loveland offered sportswear giant Bass Pro Shops an incentive package to locate in Centerra — despite Bass Pro’s undoubtedly deep pockets.

The city provided a $250,000 waiver of part of the development fee and use-tax expense, to be paid from the City Council’s economic incentive fund.

Also, in an effort to promote Bass Pro’s reputation as a destination, the city will use lodging tax money to pay for $25,000 in promotional support.

The city will also speed up the development review process to help keep Bass Pro on track for its opening date.

That date, by the way, could be next fall, though Bass Pro didn’t want to comment on a timeline.

If it’s built, CSU’s new stadium may or may not eventually translate to profits for the university, but what the Eye would like to know is whether the city has anything to gain.

Not a lot, according to Dr. Joel Maxcy, the Temple University economist hired by the stadium’s opponents.

Maxcy’s presentation at CSU in September, which focused on the financial feasibility of the stadium, included little-noticed commentary on what he deemed “spillover effects” on the community.

Stadium proponents aren’t going to like what he had to say:

The congestion, noise and waste likely to come with the raucous football fans may detract…

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