By Emily Cox
NDG Staff Writer
The Irving Entertainment Center will create 750 immediate jobs for construction, provide 2,000 long-term jobs, significantly increase tourist revenue and reduce property taxes with no citizen taxes used for development.
Despite all of the economic benefits, these are not reasons why the Irving Entertainment Center has made the news lately. A number of inaccurate claims have been levied against the Irving Entertainment Center and have weighed heavily on the public opinion of the project.
“The media attention on the Irving Entertainment Center is all one-sided,” said Anthony Bond, founder of the Irving NAACP. “We haven’t had a chance to set the record straight.
“We have a responsibility to give the public a chance to make Irving everything that it should be for its residents,” Bond said. “They need to know both sides. The Irving Entertainment Center is meant for every creed and color; rich and poor; friends; families and singles alike.”
The media has painted the Irving Entertainment Center as a potential threat to community and families. It is anything but that. It provides jobs, revenue and community connections. Bond envisions that it will be the new San Antonio River Walk or Fort Worth Stockyards. In short, it will be a place that families can enjoy for generations to come. It will be a place that Irving residents can be proud of.
In 2009, the Dallas Cowboys moved to Arlington, taking a significant portion of tourist revenue with them. According to Bond, this has resulted in Irving becoming an intermediary destination between the airport and Arlington. Without the Irving Entertainment Center, job growth and revenue is at a standstill for the residents and city of Irving.
The Irving Entertainment Center is poised to become a nationally recognized entertainment destination with an emphasis on landscaping, live music stages, water features, seating and shade outside with 3,600 parking spaces and a state-of the-art concert hall with a capacity of 7,500. Regardless of where one goes in the Entertainment Center, live music will be a primary theme. In addition, there will be 11 affordable restaurants that cater to diverse styles and taste.
The Citizens for Irving Entertainment Center – a newly established politically action committee – is urging Irving residents to take a stand for their city. The committee needs 6,000 signatures from Irving residents by mid-October to make Irving an exponentially better place to live and visit.
Irving residents, please contact Bond at 214-830-6719 or at aebond@yahoo.com to get the information you need to make your city a better community.
