Universe Knoxville boosters have given little reason to believe
by Jesse Fox Mayshark
It would be unfair to call the eight-month sales pitch for Universe Knoxville a dog-and-pony show. Unfair to dogs and ponies, that is. In concept and execution, the low-rent slick-talking effort to gin up support for a downtown planetarium/museum complex has been more of a mutt-and-mule affair.
Now, let me be clear: Universe Knoxville is not inherently a bad idea.
However, after spending most of the year waiting for Knoxville Chamber head Tom Ingram, along with developers Worsham Watkins International, to explain what exactly they want to do and how exactly they intend to pay for it, I also cannot say that Universe Knoxville is a good idea. From what I can tell, it's barely an idea at all.
I don't really know who's to blame for the U.K. boosters' utter failure to come up with details to flesh out their basic concept—a combined virtual reality planetarium, children's science center and some sort of TVA/local history museum. The various elements sound attractive enough in and of themselves, but they haven't developed conceptually beyond the catchy buzzword stage. People who support Universe Knoxville tell you it will be a "high quality" educational/entertainment attraction, but when you press them for details, they inevitably admit they don't know any. Most U.K. supporters seem well intended, but they quickly revert to the old "Well, I just want to see somebody do something downtown" line when you start probing.
That's fine. I want to see somebody do something downtown too. I want to see lots of somebodies doing lots of somethings. Granted, I'm more interested in small-scale amenities like restaurants, shops and especially residences than in some gigantic interactive space center. But I understand the value of a sizable new attraction in at least sending the message that downtown Knoxville is a lively place.
However, I also understand the value of the prime chunk of State Street real estate that the U.K. developers have staked out for themselves. And I do not believe, and in fact flat-out resent, their ongoing Chicken Little routine about how if Universe Knoxville doesn't happen, we're all doomed. This now-or-never, all-or-nothing, used-car-salesman schtick is the same game Worsham Watkins ran in trying to muscle through their last downtown Knoxville proposal (which fell apart almost entirely because of their own fuzzy math and fuzzier thinking, whoever else they may currently blame for it).
The difference this time around is they have Ingram joining in the arm-twisting and deal-cutting. And their collective carnival barker antics have done anything but build trust that they're the right people for the job. As far as I can tell, the actual content and substance of the Universe Knoxville idea hasn't progressed much since (according to the lore) Earl Worsham first turned on his TV set, saw a report on a new high-tech planetarium in New York City, and said, "By golly, we need one of those!"
Keep in mind that Ingram and WW initially tried to ramrod Universe Knoxville through County Commission back in April, before anyone had a chance to actually study the proposal. This displayed two things: the proposers' desperate wish to avoid any public discussion of their project, and their dreadful grasp of local political realities. Anyone who thinks they can railroad anything through County Commission simply hasn't been paying much attention. As it turned out, it was a good thing several commissioners put on the brakes, because the funding scheme originally put forth by Ingram et al was unconstitutional (involving, as it did, public backing of a private enterprise).
Since those early blunders, the U.K.ers have gone on to mount an amateurish campaign that has seemed to consist mostly of printing up buttons and bumper stickers and advertising supplements so full of fluff they practically float. They have cajoled Chamber members, academics, politicians, and the media to join in their impress-the-rubes marketing blitz, at the same time privately badmouthing anyone who raises questions (and periodically threatening to take the whole kit-and-caboodle over to Pigeon Forge as punishment for Knox Countians' reluctance to just pay up and shut up).
The proposal as it currently stands mandates that Worsham Watkins be designated by the Public Building Authority as the developers of the project, for a presumed fee of several million dollars. But even if County Commission decides that Universe Knoxville or something like it is a good idea, they should closely evaluate WW's credentials to deliver such a project. True, Ron Watkins undertook the development of the Knoxville Museum of Art. But the bulk of his and Worsham's experience is in hotel, commercial and residential arenas. And Worsham Watkins as a corporate entity has in fact never built anything; their sole achievement to date was making off with close to half a million dollars in public money for their "consulting" services on the city's downtown plans. So far, their work on Universe Knoxville—from their artless backroom politicking to their website to their conceptual drawings—has felt cheap and chintzy.
They are also still being dishonest about the public funding ratios they're seeking. Although their marketing material claims that the $106.5 million project will have a 2:1 ratio of private to public funds, that is actually not true. While they are only asking the county to issue $36.5 million in bonded debt, they are also looking for another $5 million from the city. And then there's the question of an additional $1.5 million a year needed in "other revenues" that Ingram has so far been unable to identify. Some portion of that will probably end up being public funds of one sort or another (U.K. boosters have talked about tapping into both the Central Business Improvement District's funds and the city's sales tax revenues). Once you combine that with the value of the donated property, it's not hard to envision a total public tab of more than $50 million—almost half the projected cost. (Yes, I know, the feasibility study says most of that $36.5 million won't be needed, because the revenues will cover it. Call me a skeptic. I will be happy to be proven wrong.)
Personally, I'd prefer that County Commission take a look at all of its public property along State Street and Gay Street, invite discussion of its possible uses—at the moment, remember, that land belongs to every resident of Knox County—and then issue requests for proposals. If Universe Knoxville ended up being the best of those proposals, so be it.
On the other hand, if commissioners are left choosing between U.K. and nothing, it's partly their own fault for letting the property in question just sit there fallow. And even though I think anyone considering the project should assume it will end up costing more and generating less revenue than the assorted feasibility studies suggest—because that too is the way things tend to happen—I don't think U.K. runs the risk of catastrophic failure. If you spend that much money on something, you're bound to get some return.
If County Commission decides to go forward with U.K. after the workshop on it scheduled for today, they need to make sure it is undertaken by people who can clearly demonstrate their qualifications for building an innovative planetarium/museum complex, ensuring that a "high-tech" attraction isn't hopelessly out of date in five or 10 years, and connecting it in meaningful ways to the other things that are already happening and/or need to happen to bring downtown Knoxville up to its potential. The parties pushing Universe Knoxville have to date given little reason for such confidence.
December 6, 2001 * Vol. 11, No. 49
© 2001 Metro Pulse
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