Comments on: Wodonga Cinema Centre will contain flying car dealership!

By: Dave from Albury

Dave from Albury — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 22:11:27 +0000

Sam, I may have some sympathy for your arguments if Wodonga was an isolated town without a cinema, but the reality is that you’d be hard pressed to find a single resident of Wodonga who doesn’t make the five minute drive from the Wodonga CBD to Albury on a regular basis.

That being the case, it’s ludicrous to argue that the residents of Wodonga are somehow disadvantaged by having to go to Albury’s cinema. Also, at a time when Wodonga Council has had to offload its last big development because it’s not generating the income they expected, I would think that they’d be a little more careful in their choice of investments. I also don’t believe that local government has any place using rate payers money to compete with private operators.

The bottom line is that if a cinema in Wodonga was commercially viable someone would have built one years ago. The fact that they haven’t should make the Council extra cautious about saddling the rate payers with more debt.

By: Sam

Sam — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 09:29:46 +0000

If the city council is trying hard to help businesses in the city centre then why bag them. That’s what they are there to do.
You will find that the city council will be very cautious on money that it spends and normally they would protect the interestes of a cinema from closing down by a use on the title. If it does close down then they could look at possible running it themselves as how many state theatres are run.
The people in most cities need entertainment and a lively town and if that is what the city council needs to do then atleast they are doing something. Better that than a ghost town.
The city councils job is to create jobs and money into the centre.
Across Australia most councils are providing incentives for cinemas to be built. Same as sporting fields, churches and other businesses that benefit the community.
So the people of the city should be proud that they are trying.
I would like to see a feasibility study or something though to make sure that the cinema could sustain itself after some upfront subsidies.

By: Dave from Albury

Dave from Albury — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 21:47:32 +0000

I think you’ll find that the prevailing sentiment in Wodonga is that they deserve a cinema of their own, but I’ve yet to hear a compelling argument why. If, as has been suggested, the developers aren’t paying market rates for the real estate then Wodonga ratepayers are being dudded from the get go. If the tenant goes bust then it will be a white elephant almost impossible to redevelop into anything useful.

People from Wodonga already come to Albury for their entertainment needs, be it pubs, clubs, restaurants or movies, a cinema will not overcome the other shortcomings in Wodonga’s CBD.

By: raydixon

raydixon — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 14:54:03 +0000

Sounds like the Albury – Wodonga rivalry is alive and well, Dave. Nothing like a bit of feuding between neighbouring towns, much like over here with Bright & Myrtleford (a town of utter losers!). Keep it going.

As for the merits of the cinema complex maybe they need a ‘SAVE WODONGA ACTION GROUP”. They could get some tips from the hillbillies over at SAVE BRIGHT. I mean, if SB can make such a ruckus about something as innocous as a supermarket in a (heaven forbid) commercial zone within the existing CBD that looks like it’ll fit in just fine and is a massive improvement on what’s there now, just imagine how effective they’d be on an inappropriate development such as you have described.

I’d give them a call, they’re geniuses.

PS: Yeah, you have to wonder how viable the Wodonga complex would be. Still, if they get the site from the council for peanuts the developers will still make big $s. The Wang Man Mayor has got it all figured I’d say.