Florida_Owl said

Is that Ron Howard with a hair piece??

I was thinking a long the lines of Jim Gaffigan

,

;D

Guys make fun if you want but also TAKE THE TIME to let him know how you feel about the stadium.

Here is my letter that I just sent.

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Dear Mr. Ahnell,

I am writing you this letter in regards to the editorial I read about in the Boca News, and your issues with an on campus stadium and the proposed changes to the CDA that will “need” to be implemented.

I strongly urge you to be very accommodating and to look at the big picture in regards to an on campus stadium in Boca Raton for FAU, and do your best to work quickly and efficiently with the university to ensure that this gets done in time for either the 2009 or 2010 seasons.

While I’m sure there may be some additional strain placed on city resources and development due to this project, it should be abundantly clear the stadium is a necessary and vital resource to FAU and the City of Boca Raton, and that these benefits will far outweigh any additional problems that arise.

As you may or may not know, Football fans are indeed a passionate group of people who often travel and follow their teams to watch them play and enjoy a quick vacation at the same time. Recently FAU hosted the University of South Florida Bulls in a game at Lockhart Stadium. Due to the fact that the USF Bulls were a ranked team, and on a historic rise thru the ranking, many fans from both the local area and also from central Florida came out to see this game. It was a complete sell out and much hype was made of it especially as our FAU owls put up a valiant fight and almost came away with a victory.

Now imagine that this game had taken place here on campus instead of in Ft. Lauderdale. I can only imagine that most of the hotels and restaurants along Glades Rd would have been thrilled to have over 10000 people staying in their resorts, eating and drinking their food, and enjoying a world class city with beautiful beaches. All of this revenue and exposure was lost to Ft. Lauderdale. On top of it all football season occurs during a traditional lull in Boca’s tourism industry as it takes place in the fall. Imagine once FAU Football becomes a strong contender in Div 1A football that this could take place 5-6 times a year.

Please look at the big picture, don’t be shortsighted by rules and regulations. Realize that there is a limited window of opportunity for you and the City to make a historic difference in the makeup and finances of this City. The time to strike is now while the iron is hot from a historic season by FAU.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,


REAL NAME HERE
FAU Football Season Ticket Holder
Full time Boca Raton Resident

Here's my suggested response:

Listen Opie,

While we understand that you make $7,456.12 per year in your fluff-filled part time role as "City manager" of Boca Raton and have to write these type of "letters" to justify your salary, we are building the stadium within our timeframe whether you like it or not.

Sincerely,

FAU Owl Fan

===============================================

Ok, ok…im just kidding!  (maybe :P)

Is all of this just posturing (on both sides), or do we have something real to worry about?

Mr. Ahnell,

Thanks for your concern about the upcoming stadium!  Please understand that although your points are well taken they are nonetheless quite in fact moot.  The stadium is on State land and as such is not under the jurisdiction of the City of Boca Raton's land use regulations.  Any agreement made was on a voluntary and unbinding basis.  We at Florida Atlantic would urge you to look forward to 5 weekends in the fall in which your City can enjoy increased hotel occupancy, increased retail and food sales, and an increased press coverage.  Some people who visit for the game may very well turn it into a vacation of sorts, they may even wish to return in the future independent of the occurrence of a Football Game.  This is of course unless you refuse to show these guests hospitality.  This is not the Orange Bowl we are talking about.  This is not in the middle of a residential neighborhood.  This is a stadium that is on a University Campus positioned very near the Interstate.  Please rethink your lack of support of a project that you have no hope in controlling.  Embrace the inevitable, challenge the rest.

Sincerely,
Concerned Chris

The said

Is all of this just posturing (on both sides), or do we have something real to worry about?

And now, for today's top story from Town Hall:

Grass grew.

Florida_Owl said

The said

Is all of this just posturing (on both sides), or do we have something real to worry about?

And now, for today's top story from Town Hall:

Grass grew.

The grass was not the correct shade of green for Boca! We must do something about this!

You know what is hilarious about this whole thing is the city knew this would eventually happen but instead of them taking the initiative to get the ball rolling on their concerns about traffic. They instead wait for any news from the university to announce a threat. What a bunch of cheap Bas*@&ds. Opie needs to get off his ass and get his band of Merry councilman together so they can get a plan on how they are going to build an exit if they are that worried about it. Like someone said 5 to 6 games a year in my opinion doesn't justify FAU jumping through hopes for these idiot's.  :

Lm77 said

Florida_Owl said

The said

Is all of this just posturing (on both sides), or do we have something real to worry about?

And now, for today's top story from Town Hall:

Grass grew.

The grass was not the correct shade of green for Boca! We must do something about this!

You think it's funny… There was a recent fight about a hot dog cart on a Boca beach.

"It just doesn't belong there," said Chris Fillichio, a lifelong Boca Raton resident. "It doesn't fit the community appearance protocol."

Talon said

You know what is hilarious about this whole thing is the city knew this would eventually happen but instead of them taking the initiative to get the ball rolling on their concerns about traffic. They instead wait for any news from the university to announce a threat…5 to 6 games a year in my opinion doesn't justify FAU jumping through hopes for these idiot's.   :

Exactly!!

(need to feel "important" in some rergard)