Welcome To Case's Column
Let me say a big welcome to all of you for joining me here. I'm going to call these blog meetings Case's Column. I wanted to use "Corner", but that was already taken.
Since 2008, it's been a real privilege to come on here and share some of my life with you, and it's a big world where we live.
In these blogs, I'll just speak whatever is on my mind, but we will be playing within the rules here. I may pick a particular topic, point out an event, or shoot the breeze. I'm a little bit of an essayist at times, so I'll just speak what's on my mind, and I might tell a story or two. Or, I might spew out an opinion or three. There will be some serious moments, some tender, some poignant, but there will also be those moments that you'll just bust out laughing. But, hopefully, everything will be in good fun here. And, of course, there's a place below for your comments and thoughts as we go along here. So feel free to join me for the ride -- I sure as heck hope I'm doing this right and not making any mistakes.
Thanks for taking your time in reading Case's Column. Hopefully, you'll enjoy being entertained by it as much as I've enjoyed putting these writings together. And thanks for the time you spend in City-Data.com, where it's great to be alive!
Regards,
case44
Let me say a big welcome to all of you for joining me here. I'm going to call these blog meetings Case's Column. I wanted to use "Corner", but that was already taken.
Since 2008, it's been a real privilege to come on here and share some of my life with you, and it's a big world where we live.In these blogs, I'll just speak whatever is on my mind, but we will be playing within the rules here. I may pick a particular topic, point out an event, or shoot the breeze. I'm a little bit of an essayist at times, so I'll just speak what's on my mind, and I might tell a story or two. Or, I might spew out an opinion or three. There will be some serious moments, some tender, some poignant, but there will also be those moments that you'll just bust out laughing. But, hopefully, everything will be in good fun here. And, of course, there's a place below for your comments and thoughts as we go along here. So feel free to join me for the ride -- I sure as heck hope I'm doing this right and not making any mistakes.
Thanks for taking your time in reading Case's Column. Hopefully, you'll enjoy being entertained by it as much as I've enjoyed putting these writings together. And thanks for the time you spend in City-Data.com, where it's great to be alive!
Regards,
case44
Spending The Night In Lubbock Just Got More Diversified
Posted 12-30-2016 at 08:13 PM by case44
Texans can always brag about their great state, especially when it comes to the economy. Everywhere you look in the Lone Star State, more and more dirt is turning and more signs read "NOW OPEN" on newly-opened stores, hotels, businesses, and restaurants. Our cities are doing better, I believe, than most in America.
One Texas city that's taking advantage of bringing more people for conventions or other things is Lubbock. Earlier this morning, I came across a link to a news story out of KCBD-TV (Channel 11) with a startling new revelation. My buddy shoe01 also related this on a new thread in the Lubbock forum. The report covered the current state of the Lubbock economy and it's thriving much harder than ever. So much so that the city can't build hotel rooms fast enough. About a year ago, the city had forty-six hotels. Six new ones have opened in Lubbock within the past year. Seven more are under construction as we speak (or, in this case, as I write).
But the demand is even higher than first imagined. The same report reveals that there will be nine additional hotels beginning construction in 2017. When the dust finally settles, Lubbock will have sixty-eight hotels available to travelers. That's a huge jump from over a year ago. If I'm a betting man, then I believe, even after all this, that Lubbock may not be done yet. But you have to wonder, by comparison, how many hotels Austin is building in that same amount of time? Or San Antonio? Or Corpus? Or Amarillo? Or Wichita Falls? Or Waco? Lubbock may well be beating those places.
With all the incoming addenda like the Lubbock Aquarium, Adventure Park, the Bush baseball museum, and the Buddy Holly Hall of Performing Arts and Sciences, not to mention numerous conventions in town, Lubbock's not exactly holding secrets anymore.
One Texas city that's taking advantage of bringing more people for conventions or other things is Lubbock. Earlier this morning, I came across a link to a news story out of KCBD-TV (Channel 11) with a startling new revelation. My buddy shoe01 also related this on a new thread in the Lubbock forum. The report covered the current state of the Lubbock economy and it's thriving much harder than ever. So much so that the city can't build hotel rooms fast enough. About a year ago, the city had forty-six hotels. Six new ones have opened in Lubbock within the past year. Seven more are under construction as we speak (or, in this case, as I write
). But the demand is even higher than first imagined. The same report reveals that there will be nine additional hotels beginning construction in 2017. When the dust finally settles, Lubbock will have sixty-eight hotels available to travelers. That's a huge jump from over a year ago. If I'm a betting man, then I believe, even after all this, that Lubbock may not be done yet. But you have to wonder, by comparison, how many hotels Austin is building in that same amount of time? Or San Antonio? Or Corpus? Or Amarillo? Or Wichita Falls? Or Waco? Lubbock may well be beating those places.
With all the incoming addenda like the Lubbock Aquarium, Adventure Park, the Bush baseball museum, and the Buddy Holly Hall of Performing Arts and Sciences, not to mention numerous conventions in town, Lubbock's not exactly holding secrets anymore.
Total Comments 6
Comments
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As someone I know said, that's almost a 50% increase. Don't know about the total of additional rooms, but it's substantial. It could cause decrepit places to close (some might say good riddance to Bates Motel-type places), decreasing the total number.
Some in that report looked nice.Posted 01-01-2017 at 12:54 AM by shoe01
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It should also be noted that one long-time hotel, the Travelers Inn on Avenue Q, was demolished last spring, shoe. So you do make one point on decrepit, has-been hotels having seen their better days meeting an appointment with a bulldozer.Posted 01-01-2017 at 12:43 PM by case44
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Oh, and in place of the old Travelers Inn, there'll be a brand-spankin'-new Best Western Plus. It should open later this year if construction has actually begun on it. That, plus another Best Western planned for Marsha Sharp at 289 (an Executive Residency hotel model, no less) would give Lubbock four Best Western locations soon.Posted 01-01-2017 at 12:47 PM by case44
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Can't help but wonder if the Overton Hotel changed the industry there. I remember when the current Embassy Suites was the premier place to stay, and there were maybe 25-30 hotels total in the city. From about 2000 to 2009, 1-3 hotels would open per year. Then came the Overton, and it seemed like the floodgates opened once it demonstrated that success can be had Lubbock.Posted 01-01-2017 at 03:52 PM by shoe01
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Update: according to a poster in another forum, a well-known run-down motel has fences surrounding it. Long-time Lubbock residents should be able to figure out the property to which I'm referring (would be one of the best locations in the entire city for upscale lodging if adjacent properties were also removed). Hint: it's very close to Jones AT&T...
Update #2: Here's an article from Aug. 2015 that sort of confirms my guess about the Overton:
Resting easy: Lubbock's hotel industry in good, steady condition | Lubbock Online | Lubbock Avalanche-JournalPosted 01-01-2017 at 04:25 PM by shoe01
Updated 01-01-2017 at 05:53 PM by shoe01 -
^^^ I agree, shoe. Nothing against Embassy Suites, mind you, but I feel that they didn't build that rascal big enough like we have in Dallas. In Lubbock, that used to be all they had. You can thank the people that brought us The Overton. That was a clear game-changer for the city.
Now what I'd like to see, more than anything, is if folks there can convince some developers and business leaders to get the downtown area a few high-rises that will take the focus away from the NTS Metro Tower.Posted 01-02-2017 at 08:24 AM by case44
Updated 01-02-2017 at 08:34 AM by case44
