NewHavenBIZ

18 n e w h a v e n B I Z | O c t o b e r 2 0 1 8 n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m Great Moments in Wishful Thinking New Haven 'magic bullets' that missed the mark F or years some very smart people with money and responsibility have sought magic bullets to vault New Haven from nowheresville to the big time. The idea has been to con- vince people from outside south-cen- tral Connecticut that New Haven is a cool place to come visit for a few hours, spend some money and (at least in the bad old days) maybe even not get mugged or shot. (And maybe find a parking space!) Most of those ideas were based more on hope than science. Some were sold on an unsuspecting public with some measure of deceit, or at least misdirection. All have come, more or less, to little. "There are many reasons to have festivals and events," notes city Economic Development Administrator Matthew Nemerson. "One is public- ity: Arts & Ideas, whether it attracts 50,000 people or 100,000 people, [generates] tremendous name recogni- tion. There's value in that." But also a problem leveraging that name recognition: New Haven lacks a critical media mass. Sure, WTNH-TV's broadcast studios are on Elm Street, but it serves a market defined by Niel- sen as "Hartford-New Haven" — i.e., Connecticut north and east of Fairfield County, which itself is squarely within the New York City broadcast capture area. "It's very hard and very expensive to get the word out about New Haven [events and attractions] much beyond the 12 or 15 towns right around us," Nemerson says. The following is a representative sampling of what might have been — and what might still be — New Haven's place in the sun. Baseball Been Bery, Bery Bad To Me Attraction: New Haven Ravens AA baseball Year(s): 1994-2003 What could be more appealing than seeing Major League baseball legends of tomorrow ply their trade at histo- ry-drenched Yale Field, the lyrical West Haven ballpark that had seen such luminaries as Babe Ruth, Ted Williams and George H.W. Bush play there since it opened in April 1928? Apparently, plenty of things. In 1992 Yale identified the need to renovate its ancient ballpark. This coincided with the National League's addition of the Colorado Rockies and Florida Marlins the following year — two new franchises that would need minor-league affiliates to groom talent for the big club. Three extraordinarily optimistic (and rich) Yale alums were able to attract an Eastern League (AA) franchise to West Haven — and in the process help to pay for renovations to the ballpark. A win-win? There Is Crying in Baseball: No. Baseball fans from outside the Elm City never really embraced the team — a mystery to those who wondered why other Connecticut cities such as New Britain and Norwich were able to make a go of minor-league baseball. Baseball Quote for the Ages: "These guys just battled their butts off." — Ravens skipper Dan Hohn after the team defeated the Reading Phillies to claim the Eastern League title. The next spring they were gone. The Invisible Festival Event: International Festival of Arts & Ideas Year(s): 1995-present Started in 1995 by three well-in- tentioned rich ladies (Anne Calabresi, Roslyn Meyer and Jean Handley) look- ing for a worthwhile project to bring enlightenment to the masses and, in the process, put New Haven on the cultural map. Despite the vision and energy of some highly talented artistic directors (e.g., Paul Collard, Mary Lou Aleskie), Arts & Ideas has over a quarter-century never really decided whether it wanted to be high culture, "neighborhood" culture or Yale culture. In addition, the festival's "Ideas" component was never clearly articulated or executed. 'There are many reasons to have festivals and events. One is publicity. Arts & Ideas [generates] tremendous name recognition. There's value in that.' O N T H E O T H E R H A N D . . . Local Business. Local Bank. Some relationships are just better. Call Paul Portnoy (203) 785-9148 milfordbank.com Member FDIC

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