NYT on Local Squabble

There's an interesting article in the New York Times about resistance from the Downtown Special Services District to a planned hotel ballroom in the Harbor Point development. Their concern is that Stamford is too small (120,000 people) to support two downtowns and that this ballroom will draw people away from downtown. Maybe, but counting the population just within Stamford's borders is not an accurate tally. What about people from Norwalk, Greenwich, etc? There are other venues around town as well that seem to peacefully coexist with downtown - if we are talking "ballrooms" the Italian Center comes to mind (ok the giant pink 80s chandelier is also working against it...but still!). I say we should take a Field of Dreams if-you-build-it-they-will-come approach. This economy is still fragile, and we can't afford to shun local investment. Besides, if party people come for "the ball" maybe they'll go just a bit further for downtown drinks. Cheers to that!