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Are we to believe that no one in power in or around Des Moines dared or was curious enough to ask whether new entertainment facilities designed to attract thousands of attendees at a time would not necessitate additional parking and lodging in the immediate vicinity? Were those questions and the answers to them hidden from public view until the $200 million project was assured?

Are we to believe the "experts" Elbert cites, who now claim that visitors refuse to sleep in hotels that were "built before 1980" or are not next door? When are we going to be told officially that additional parking must be provided and this time solely at the city's expense?

If, as previously announced, the arena is the only money-making part of the entire complex, why should we spend even more taxpayer funds, whether directly or indirectly, to provide deluxe "new" accommodations that are right next door for guests who aren't covering the total operating costs anyway?

This perpetual-seeming project has smelled bad from the beginning when elected officials circumvented taxpayer input by alleging it was an expansion of the existing Veterans Memorial Auditorium. If the Dallas Stars hockey outfit is pushing for the new hotel, let them build it.

Come on all of you conservative power brokers, let's get Des Moines out of the corporate-welfare business. We're in the red enough.

Larry Burch
Des Moines