Carnival Center for the Performing Arts - Blackballed!

Even though I enjoy live performances, I have no interest in patronizing the years-late, over $100 million overcost Carnival Center for Performing Arts in downtown Miami. In no particular order, and some of which are based on second-hand reports...


* Sponsor. The cruise line corporate name is a turn-off. I have minimal desire to go on a cruise and am suspicious of these companies' environmental practices.


* Traffic. Performances last season caused massive, impenetrable traffic congestion on Biscayne Boulevard. It would not surprise me one bit if there was no consideration paid to traffic issues in the planning of this venue.


* That Old Boondoggle Feeling. I had a Lonely Planet Florida tour book from 1998, which stated that the Center was set to open in the early 2000s. Over $100 million in cost overruns later, It didn't open until 2007. I heard that parts of the interior were not completed such that multiple people tripped and fell in the concert hall. Finally, the Center's director just received a massive annual pay raise, from $230,000 to $326,255 - - absolutely appalling!


* Parking. The official Center parking is valet only, which caused extensive and over-lengthy (up to an hour) waits for one's car after a show. Otherwise, expect to pay $15-20 to park in a nearby lot.


* Non-revitalization. Surrounding the opening of the Center was talk of a budding "performing arts district", akin to an "if you build it they will come" aspiration. I know that it recently opened, but I have seen virtually no sign of any new restaurants, bars, cafes or the like in the immediate/walking distance vicinity of the Center (note that I live about 10 blocks north of there and drive on Biscayne every day).


Nevertheless, the architecture is cool, and eventually there may be a performance for which I am willing to overcome my above-described skepticism. I have never been offered complimentary tickets either, which could quickly change my mind.