Why In The World Would We Need A Concrete Stage In The Depot District?

Man this one gets under my skin.  There is a plan afoot to have a concrete stage added to Buddy and Maria Elena Holly Plaza (I guess that means the area where that statue is).  The people involved say that it "could" be used for large outdoor concerts.

Could they mean, it "could" be used to save the people pitching it money?  Meaning, we the taxpayers pay the bill for the stage, so the promoters can put on shows and put more money back in their own pockets?   And what about the Wells Fargo Amphitheater that was supposed to up our entertainment options but no one really even knows where is? And what about the private interests that have venues, why are we as a city working against the private businessmen that invested in venues? And how would this affect the performing arts center that's supposedly going up where the DPS was?  Most of all, why the hell is the city of Lubbock underwriting the concert business?

Once again expect to here the "more concerts" pitch to the people of Lubbock. It's an absolute flat out lie.  That one didn't even work out with United Spirit Arena. We had more concerts when we had the concerts in the Lubbock Colosseum.  NONE of these projects have resulted in "more concerts". The concert business is shrinking, there are no "more" concerts out there to attract. This is all about making it easier and cheaper for certain people who have their hands in the cities pockets to have concerts, not to really grow the entertainment scene in Lubbock overall.

How about that last concert that was held in this area with a portable stage? It sucked and the stage had nothing to do with it. It could not compete with the privately promoted concert down the street.  Lastly, an outdoor stage of this type does not have rigging (the stuff that holds the lights). Most pro bands will not play without proper rigging, so this is more about regional and local bands, that already have plenty of places to play. This will also be a giant unattended slab, who's going to pay for the first kid that falls off of it when playing and breaks his neck?

I don't know if any of us regular folk will even get a say in this or not. This is probably Parks & Rec money that doesn't have to be approved.  In fact, I'll straight out tell you that I am ignorant of the funding process, all I can tell you is that this proposed concrete stage is a giant slab of b.s.