Life Experiences & Observations

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Tag: Arizona

January 17, 2015

The Super Bowl is Not So Super!

00000000000000000000 az super bowlThis year the Super Bowl is coming to my home state of Arizona. As you can imagine, there is tons of talk and media coverage about this great event, especially since it will be almost in my back yard. Well my backyard is actually in Scottsdale but you get the idea. After reading an article about how difficult it can be to get tickets, I have come to the conclusion that the Super Bowl is not so super. To start with, the face value for tickets is absurd. $800 is the cheapest ticket there is. And we are not talking lower level or even upper level near the middle. We are talking last row, upper deck, end zone.

I am not totally unrealistic. I understand this is one of the most popular sporting events in the world. The part that digs into my pores like dirt in a pimple, is how the ticket allocation goes. Both teams get a certain percentage, the NFL gets a certain percentage, each team in the NFL gets a certain percentage, and the Arizona Cardinals as the host team gets a percentage. But wait, it gets better. The hosting NFL team gets the smallest percentage. It’s our building!! I could rant much more, but what gets me the most is that the only group with access to face value tickets outside of the distribution I just described is… The Arizona Politicians!! Yes, you heard me correctly… the politicians. They are already rich and famous!! Why for the horror of a slaughtered pig skin do politicians get face value tickets. I can’t explain it except for the equation power equals privileges. As for the other ticket allocations, while you would think they would be put to good use, a large percentage ultimately get passed along to the ticket brokers so they can make millions in profits.

There you have it. The Super Bowl is not so Super. Okay, maybe for the politicians and the ticket brokers but nobody else.

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November 15, 2013

Welcome to Scottsdale – The New Vegas!

camelviewDon’t get me wrong, I love Las Vegas. In fact, I even hope to own a condo there someday. But why does Scottsdale have to become the next Las Vegas? I totally understand periodically having to update, change, or even remove old buildings and businesses; but that’s usually due to financial ruin of the business involved.

In the case of my beloved Camelview, even a large theater company such as Harkins is being pushed around by some wealthy developers. Camelview is making money. Camelview is one of the only Indie theaters in the area. Camelview is architecturally unique. Unfortunately, nobody who is involved or has any true power cares. It will most likely be shut down, demolished, and replaced with a spanking new prototype theater. I get that this sometimes needs to happen. I get that this occurs in even the quaintest of towns. But when it comes to Scottsdale, this is happening (more recently) almost all the time with nobody having enough weight to stand up and stop it. It will be sad when it happens and the replacement theater will most likely turn into a Cineplex. With no indie flicks and no unique building, as least they could provide us some entertainment with a huge implosion. Welcome to ScottsVegas!

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