Coventry Moves Together 20:21 (7 Viewers)

[publican1990]

It's not angry at all, it is just pointing out that it clearly is a bias because it's here.

If it was Leicester going on about a spoken word festival and an arts event based on a canal I am pretty sure you wouldn't be saying you would really love to visit it.

It's the reality of it.

Sorry, I wasn't aware you knew what I enjoyed doing with my spare time. And I wasn't aware you spoke for hundreds of thousands of potential visitors to this city!

 

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[Grendel]

Sorry, I wasn't aware you knew what I enjoyed doing with my spare time. And I wasn't aware you spoke for hundreds of thousands of potential visitors to this city!

I hardly think hundreds of thousands will be visiting the city. I’ve visited it once in 3 years

 

[publican1990]

I hardly think hundreds of thousands will be visiting the city. I’ve visited it once in 3 years

'The BBC reported that a report by University of Hull in March 2018 found Hull's status as the UK City of Culture attracted more than five million people, £220 million of investment and 800 new jobs.'

5 million people visited Hull, you don't think we have the same pulling power as Hull? We're far better connected transport wise for a start. So hundreds of thousands was actually a conservative estimate.

 

[clint van damme]

It's not angry at all, it is just pointing out that it clearly is a bias because it's here.

If it was Leicester going on about a spoken word festival and an arts event based on a canal I am pretty sure you wouldn't be saying you would really love to visit it.

It's the reality of it.

This may come as a shock but some of us do attend events in other cities, sometimes we're prompted to do so based on said events being publicised in the media.

 

[Tommo1993]

Feels a bit like the sprucing up of some parts of town wouldn’t have happened without the City of Culture thing.

 

[Nick]

This may come as a shock but some of us do attend events in other cities, sometimes we're prompted to do so based on said events being publicised in the media.

Oh yeh of course.

I was just talking about the sheer bias of how appealing the things in that article were.

Especially when you consider a decent away following for a Championship game will bring in more people in one game than most of those events listed combined.

 

[Nick]

Sorry, I wasn't aware you knew what I enjoyed doing with my spare time. And I wasn't aware you spoke for hundreds of thousands of potential visitors to this city!

Hope they enjoy Electric Wharf or a canal music event then. Best book the day off work to avoid the gridlock.

 

[clint van damme]

Oh yeh of course.

I was just talking about the sheer bias of how appealing the things in that article were.

Especially when you consider a decent away following for a Championship game will bring in more people in one game than most of those events listed combined.

They're trying to sell the city, you expect them to say its shit?
And I'm not sure what the relevance of away followings?
The purpose is to bring extra people in, do you expect them not to bother because they might not attract as much as a football game?

 

[publican1990]

Hope they enjoy Electric Wharf or a canal music event then. Best book the day off work to avoid the gridlock.

I'm sure they will

 

[Grendel]

'The BBC reported that a report by University of Hull in March 2018 found Hull's status as the UK City of Culture attracted more than five million people, £220 million of investment and 800 new jobs.'

5 million people visited Hull, you don't think we have the same pulling power as Hull? We're far better connected transport wise for a start. So hundreds of thousands was actually a conservative estimate.

5 million visited Hull in one in 12 of the adult population of the whole of the U.K.

did you visit it? Who did on here? Anyone?

 

[Brighton Sky Blue]

5 million visited Hull in one in 12 of the adult population of the whole of the U.K.

did you visit it? Who did on here? Anyone?

I did, they hosted the British Chess Championships as part of the events

 

[Grendel]

I did, they hosted the British Chess Championships as part of the events

You must have been joined by another 35,000 Coventrians

 

[Nick]

You must have been joined by another 35,000 Coventrians

Pretty sure that isn't 5m plus different visitors to Hull from outside.

I'd hazard a guess there's some numbers spin going on.

 

[Grendel]

Pretty sure that isn't 5m plus different visitors to Hull from outside.

I'd hazard a guess there's some numbers spin going on.

Surely not I’m sure 1 in 12 rushed to the humber

 

[publican1990]

Surely not I’m sure 1 in 12 rushed to the humber

Did it say that those people constituted visitors just from the UK? What about visitors from abroad? The UK tourism industry is worth over a hundred billion. We attract people from all across the world. It's not beyond the realms of possibility that foreign tourists made up a portion of that number. Especially as Hull is less than an hour from one of England's biggest hotspots York. What would be the value in massaging the figures? I don't get it. Let's just say for arguments sake, that its 5 million 'visits' instead of 5 million visitors, that's still going to be 5 million visits where people spend money locally.

I don't like rugby or reality tv, so i just give them a wide berth but lots of people do enjoy them. Some of the city of culture stuff doesn't appeal to me, but it does appeal to other people, and if it brings money and jobs to the city then I don't see what the issue is.

 

[Nick]

Did it say that those people constituted visitors just from the UK? What about visitors from abroad? The UK tourism industry is worth over a hundred billion. We attract people from all across the world. It's not beyond the realms of possibility that foreign tourists made up a portion of that number. Especially as Hull is less than an hour from one of England's biggest hotspots York. What would be the value in massaging the figures? I don't get it. Let's just say for arguments sake, that its 5 million 'visits' instead of 5 million visitors, that's still going to be 5 million visits where people spend money locally.

I don't like rugby or reality tv, so i just give them a wide berth because lots of people do enjoy them. Some of the city of culture stuff doesn't appeal to me, but it does appeal to other people, and if it brings money and jobs to the city then I don't see what the issue is.

Over half of the 5.3m were from Hull apparently.

It's a spun statistic.

 

[Brighton Sky Blue]

You must have been joined by another 35,000 Coventrians

Well we were going to invite you along but...

 

[publican1990]

Over half of the 5.3m were from Hull apparently.

It's a spun statistic.

Yeah just seen that, fair point I still hope the whole thing is a big success regardless.

 

[Nick]

Yeah just seen that, fair point I still hope the whole thing is a big success regardless.

Dont get me wrong, I hope there are things that are more appealing so I can take my daughter.

Not sure she would want to sit and watch the gates open and close at Electric Wharf for the day.

 

[Brighton Sky Blue]

Dont get me wrong, I hope there are things that are more appealing so I can take my daughter.

Not sure she would want to sit and watch the gates open and close at Electric Wharf for the day.

Our youth chess academy will have a number of things going on if she wants to learn something new

 

[Nick]

Our youth chess academy will have a number of things going on if she wants to learn something new

She did used to like playing chess to be fair

 

[Brighton Sky Blue]

She did used to like playing chess to be fair

Every Saturday in Cheylesmore, restarting late August/early September. Just £5 for 2 hours

 

[Sky_Blue_Dreamer]

Completely disagree with this.

Keith and Sharon if they are always going to stay local will stay local. However, there is a large swathe of people who don’t go into Cov but happily go to Kenilworth, Leamington etc for a meal and a few drinks.

What we need to do is entice these people back. Get people going into town again to have a night out without the perception that it is for the ‘young uns’ or it is going to ‘kick off’ based on a perception of twenty odd years ago.

There is a stigma about the city and particularly the city centre that only we can change.

Anyway, fuck it I know I’m biased and it certainly isn’t the utopia that perhaps comes across in my posts but I honestly believe that the city is at a tipping point and I just hope we take advantage of it.

It has improved lately, especially in terms of things like restaurants even if a lot of them are chains. Trouble is, and I know this is anecdotal, I've had people before they came to Cov suggesting going to places like Wagamamas etc then when they did almost immediately stopped suggesting going there and instead suggested other places that didn't have a Cov presence. Then if they turned up they'd change again. For some it seems the criteria for a good eaterie is basically 'not available in Cov'

 

[Sky_Blue_Dreamer]

One place that has potential (with a bit of vision) is the old IKEA. I know the idea of an art gallery has been mooted. Personally I reckon a multi level entertainment centre of sorts would help attract loads of people, families included, to the centre. You could have indoor mini golf, a bowling alley, a space for pool tables, table tennis, darts. An escape room set up. You could have a food hall for local vendors, get some of the local breweries involved. You could have an area for live music to showcase local talent. It's pretty much equidistant between pool meadow and the train station, there's already plenty of parking nearby. There's also the cinema next door so people could make a day of visiting. Make Cov a destination for people from Warwickshire rather than the other way around.

The bridge to the canal basin needs blowing up too. Open that area up, offer incentives for businesses to open up there, an outdoor seating area at the canal basin would be a brilliant spot in the summer months for drinks. The Tin is a brilliant little venue, if it were in any other city it would be raved about but it seems to fall under the radar in Cov. A totally unique venue in the old coal vaults. Playwrights cafe has opened up there, that's a lovely little spot to grab a coffee and watch the world go by.

A lot of the time it seems Cov's issues are just piss poor marketing and promotion of itself, combined with short sighted planning.

That's how I see the future of IKEA too. I also thought Go Karting and Laser Quest would suit it.

Agree about Canal basin as well. I think it could be a great Brindley Place style development if you improved it's accessibility like Brum did. Add to the Coal Vaults with a central based WAC style set up.

 

[hill83]

Go Karting and Laser Quest

AT THE SAME TIME

 

[Sky_Blue_Dreamer]

AT THE SAME TIME

Mario Kart

 

[clint van damme]

AT THE SAME TIME

That's basically what getting out of IKEA entailed, with a bit of Crystal maze thrown in.