Maritime Park: Boon or Bust?

Posting an article from pnj.com tonight for the benefit of all y'all who love to debate this.  Have at it, as I note the article commenters have already begun to do:

Maritime Park: Brimming with potential or just fantasy?

Huge success. Poorly written article which has one title, but talks about BP funding.

Nobody will be left holding the bag. The ballpark alone can pay the bonds. !/2 of the concessions pays the bonds, but because the naysayers convinced the public that only 50k people a year would attend, the negotiations gave the ball team 100% of concessions. This is unheard of and I said the same ten years ago that the naysayers were causing the government to leave money on the table. Well, when the contract is renegotiated the ball team will make money and the bonds will be paid, the public will have this beautiful park free and clear without a dime of taxpayer money being spent. The Kane County Cougars renegotiated after the first contract and basically have a cash cow. All the naysayers were simply wrong. The build out is an absurd metric when things like classrooms and museum were just one more public rabbit hole where taxpayer money would have been lost. It did not happen because it cannot be sustained. Yes, leaseholds will make a better cash cow, but at what cost to open space? The exciting future for downtown Pensacola is unlimited. With residential growing and the possibility within ten years of legalized casinos adjacent to the park will make Pensacola the destination, and the Beach just an accessory to a wonderful vacation.

The plans never included a huge Office building. It included retail shops and restaurants along a boardwalk with play areas and boat docks.

The concept plan did not call for a hotel, but a hotel will certainly be built in the park. Nicks is next door for a restaurant, and downtown has ten really good restaurants. I have visited the park as I watch people walking on the broad concrete walkway along the bay with decorative pavers and plantings. People fishing and some just sitting in the grass.......The people own this park and all the land which has been built on by private development.....a huge windfall for the public as those rents and concession contracts over the next thirty years will give the public a paid for park without a dime coming out of the taxpayer's pocket. Over the thirty years it will have a surplus for the public. UWF bailed. Nothing new as they had created historic disneyland downtown which was costing close to 10 million a year as trustees began to question the educational mission of the ivory tower proposal UWF made.....they backed out wisely, because their mission is to educate kids. The museum......well even with seed money, no others from the donor class made a deposit.......so those folks had grand plans, but only the Studers performed, and they performed perfectly as the park is a huge success which blossomed in the worse recession since the great depression. Every town in America would like to have this kind of success. If somebody on this forum wants to put in a restaurant, they can, but anybody who has done development work understands that ultimate uses over thirty years are dynamic and will change.