We've all heard someone say, "There's nothing to do in Auburn," usually in a whiney and annoying tone of voice. They complain about the lack of cool bars, dance clubs, hipster hangouts or whatever else larger, cooler cities have.
Normally, we wouldn't pay these whiners any attention, but the recent Hangout Fest in Orange Beach has got us thinking and asking some tough questions.
For instance, can we do better than Sky Bar?
Now, before those of you who live in Sky every weekend throw a hissy fit, let us explain. We're not putting down Auburn's most popular bar; we're simply using it as a paradigm.
Most weeks, Sky has a few no-name cover bands as their main form of entertainment. Some might be great; some might be terrible. Either way, they're just cover bands repeating the same old college music shtick.
We can only listen to a bunch of lame cover bands pretending to be cool for so long.
Think about Athens, Ga. as what Auburn could be like.
We don't have the money to truly compete with Athens, but there's nothing wrong with establishing Auburn as a town with appealing venues that real bands - who play their own music - want to come to.
There is one big building on campus that's used for only half the year and would be perfect for big-name acts: the Auburn Arena.
The arena cost approximately $92.5 million and seats more than 9,000 people. Unfortunately, the basketball teams haven't done much to attract people to the arena, and the University Program Council shows are hit or miss when it comes to getting acts with the ability to draw a crowd.
Sure, people went to see Train, but hopefully they learned the error of their ways and repented.
We can't imagine spending so much money on a building and using it so infrequently. It's akin to the elderly woman who buys a nice couch only to cover it in plastic and never lets anybody sit on it.
Basically, the arena could be use to make Auburn a great place to see a show, but instead it gets used like the civic center in the most boring town in the country. The UPC has the budget to make this happen, but we get Train instead.
The University could even charge money for events that aren't put on by UPC. Imagine getting a ticket and not driving all the way to Atlanta or Birmingham to see a band you like.
We want to make this happen. We want to issue a charge the UPC. Only the whiniest among us should ever say Auburn is boring.
There is no need to be a sleepy little village on the plains when we could be a vibrant community that appreciates the value of entertainment and the godsend a viable concert venue could be to the local economy.
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