Reading some of the comments in the "Sun Bowl" thread, I'm curious what the posters on this board think. Yes, visiting fans don't see El Paso as a destination city and aren't excited about coming here, and I doubt that helps the Sun Bowl in the pecking order, especially in the long run. Is there anything El Paso can do to improve this, or are we just hopelessly handicapped by being a relatively poor city in the middle of nowhere?
It seems like even when El Paso tries to do something special like the Twelve Travelers, people in the community are determined to trash it and ruin it for everybody.
Theme parks? El Paso's never going to be a theme park Mecca, but we can surely do better than Western Playland. Adventureland near Des Moines, Iowa (population 210,000) has five coasters, two with inversions. Not Six Flags, but why couldn't El Paso support something like that? Is Western Playland just complacent, facing no competition since Magic Landing faded into obscurity, or is there more to the business holding them back that I just don't understand?
Besides Mexican food, is there anything El Paso can really promote to visitors? (As for Mexican food, it would seem an easy sell to promote L&J's and then the short walk across the street to see John Wesley Hardin's grave.) The tourism literature I've seen really promotes the nature trails and hiking and mountain biking and the like, which is great, but I doubt that's what the average Sun Bowl visitor is looking for. Music scene? We're not Nashville, but we produced The Mars Volta... Ski packages at Inn of the Mountain Gods might appeal to a few, and White Sands and Carlsbad Caverns could be cool for those willing to do a short road trip after already making a trip to El Paso for a football game. What else is there closer to home?
It seems like even when El Paso tries to do something special like the Twelve Travelers, people in the community are determined to trash it and ruin it for everybody.
Theme parks? El Paso's never going to be a theme park Mecca, but we can surely do better than Western Playland. Adventureland near Des Moines, Iowa (population 210,000) has five coasters, two with inversions. Not Six Flags, but why couldn't El Paso support something like that? Is Western Playland just complacent, facing no competition since Magic Landing faded into obscurity, or is there more to the business holding them back that I just don't understand?
Besides Mexican food, is there anything El Paso can really promote to visitors? (As for Mexican food, it would seem an easy sell to promote L&J's and then the short walk across the street to see John Wesley Hardin's grave.) The tourism literature I've seen really promotes the nature trails and hiking and mountain biking and the like, which is great, but I doubt that's what the average Sun Bowl visitor is looking for. Music scene? We're not Nashville, but we produced The Mars Volta... Ski packages at Inn of the Mountain Gods might appeal to a few, and White Sands and Carlsbad Caverns could be cool for those willing to do a short road trip after already making a trip to El Paso for a football game. What else is there closer to home?