Allegheny County authorities, along with the Keystone State Wrestling Alliance (KSWA), announced today that a new, publicly-funded professional wrestling arena will be built in Pittsburgh's Lawrenceville neighborhood.
Persons close to the negotiations revealed that the $4.1 million structure will be erected next door to the Lawrenceville Moose at 120 51st Street.
Real estate taxes will also be excused as part of the deal for five years, according to county authorities. The tax abatement is a part of an economic stimulus plan to encourage small business growth.
Industry insiders call the deal revolutionary, especially since it falls on the heels of the Mickey Rourke-Oscar nominated, “The Wrestler.”
Landon Mark, real estate liaison for the county, says that breaking ground on the multi-million dollar experiment will occur within a few months. “Next to building the new hockey arena, and with the possible exception of a NASCAR track in the Hays neighborhood, this is simply the biggest, best news for the region in these tough times,” added Mark.
Funding will be made possible through money from the current Regional Asset District (RAD) budget. There is also talk of siphoning from a proposed half-cent “sin tax” increase on cigarettes to assist with overruns. Authorities say that naming rights is also a possibility.
Organizers and promoters with the Keystone State Wrestling Alliance expressed gratitude and applauded the decision. “The region has been a hot-bed for professional wrestling and this beautiful arena will be the crown jewel of the industry,” said Francis Gotch, senior vice president of real estate development.
Originally a warehouse, the future KSWA Arena will sport a glitzy outdoor waterfall, a parking garage for 200 cars, and a chain restaurant called HEADLOCKS.
La Lucha, a Mexican immigrant who has become one of the KSWA's most celebrated Megastars—and a former World Champion—will be on hand for an official announcement soon.
Special tax incentives will also be given to KSWA stockholders as part of the plan. The arena is expected to create dozens of jobs and should be open April 1, 2011.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
County Announces Plans To Build Taxpayer-Funded Professional Wrestling Arena
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4 comments:
Nice!
I'm gathering signatures to call a public hearing on this now. If you want to help, leave a message here in this thread.
Of course, those who sign up to speak at a public hearing get to speak either "for" or "against" -- or can just leave "comments" and make up your mind later even.
If you don't sign up, you might only get to speak for 1-minute depending on how annal Doug Shields feels at the time. Sign up early, and you'll get a 3-minute round with the microphone.
EzineArticles Announces Formation of the EzineArticles Racing Team
With NASCAR's Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway only four days away, we proudly announced at a press conference yesterday the debut of the newly formed EzineArticles Racing Team into the 2009 national stock car racing line-up.
If the sudden appearance of the EzineArticles Racing Team comes as somewhat of a surprise to you, you're not alone. News of this event shocked even the most astute racing insiders. Today's announcement is the culmination of months of planning in an environment of total secrecy.
At the press conference, Christopher Knight, CEO, spoke to a handful of reporters about this unexpected and highly secretive leap into racing's big league. "I'm sure that this move is going to shock a LOT of people. Even our own employees have been kept in the dark about our plans to sponsor a team. But we felt secrecy was necessary if we were going to truly capitalize on entering the racing world with a bang."
[EzineArticles Racing car #404 and driver Vince Valance - an unbeatable combination. Click to see a larger version of this picture.]
At the wheel of car #404 is relative newcomer Vince Valance (a pseudonym) of Luxemburg, WI. Although well known in Midwest racing circuits, Valance is making his national racing debut on Sunday in Fort Worth, TX. According to Valance, "Mr. Knight felt it was important that we have a local driver who really understood the Midwestern mindset of the company. He even went so far as to secretly hire me into a temporary position so that I could better understand the inner-workings of EzineArticles."
[EzineArticles Racing car #404 qualifies in time trials at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Click to see a larger version of this picture.]
The team's choice of car number 404, a reference to the Internet error code for "Page Not Found," speaks volumes about EzineArticles' tongue-in-cheek approach to sponsorship. "We're a dot-com company," says Knight, "it's no secret that we're geeks. We see a lot of potential for humor in the odd pairing of a company dedicated to 'chair jockeys' with the fast-paced and flashy world of auto racing." For even more proof of this less-than-serious attitude, one need look no further than the team's official website.
The big question is whether or not the EzineArticles team can carve a name for itself in the big money, big name world of auto racing. Knight obviously thinks they can. "I'm not one to throw cash at a losing proposition," he says. "Internet marketing is all about driving traffic to your site. Making a big splash to an audience as big as pro auto racing is a great way to stand out from the crowd and bring people to our site. After that, it's just money in the bank. Now if you're asking if we'll win races... well, that remains to be seen."
[EzineArticles Driver Vince Valance stands alongside car #404. Click to see a larger version of this picture.]
To learn more about the team, go to the official, and slightly off-beat, EzineArticles Racing website at http://EzineArticlesRacing.com/. On the site, we've posted even more pictures of Vince and the car, plus photos and bios of the crew - though we're thinking some of the material posted here might be a little, um, fictional.
Download a PDF copy of the official press release issued yesterday by EzineArticles. According to a team spokesperson, more information about the team will be announced in the days leading up to this weekend's race at Texas Motor Speedway.
[EzineArticles Racing Team T-Shirt]
Looking for something new and sporty for that special racing fan in your life? Then check out our collection of EzineArticles Racing apparel! We have a variety of shirts and hats to suit even hard-core auto racing enthusiasts. Check back often because we'll be adding more items everyday.
In tomorrow's blog post, we'll be revealing even more secrets about Vince Valance, car #404 and the whole EzineArticles racing team. Whether you're a racing fan or not, it's a blog post you definitely will not want to miss! =) Check it out at http://blog.ezinearticles.com/.
To Your Article Writing/Marketing Success & Passion!
Marc, Public Relations
http://EzineArticles.com/
PS: Are you as thrilled as we are about EzineArticles Racing? Why not tell us about it at
http://blog.ezinearticles.com/2009/04/ezineArticles-enters-big-time-racing.html? We look forward to hearing your comments about this new and exciting chapter in the life of EzineArticles.
I support it First Of All, Great Idea. When did all the KSWA owners recieve the Letters? And Great opening paragraph.
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