I love Pittsburgh. I've chosen to make this my home but..... the people who run the city don't live here. They reside in fantasyland.
I remember Mayor Tom Murphy threatening to use imminent domain to force his vision of the a city. We had taxes forced on us to fund new stadiums. The first was PNC Park. If PNC wants their name on it they ought to foot the entire bill. But I digress. The Pirates have a beautiful new stadium so now they can lose games in style.
We were told how people would flock downtown to shop and have fun and it would launch the city into the future. Now comes word Outback Steakhouse at PNC Park has shut down. That a huge loss. The Pirates plan to introduce a "new concept" involving restaurant and entertainment space that will be open to all fans. Translation: That's huge loss!
Jerome Bettis has a restaurant near the park, the casino is about to pop up next door, the Steelers are planning an entertainment venue. Dare I say folks are already gambling on the "north shore" as we have renamed the north side to attract yuppies.
The Outback closing follows the shutdown of Hi-Tops Sports Bar near PNC Park in October. I would love to see all this work but my fear is dreams are outpacing reality.
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