fuer die userin 'cilla'
und alle interessierten im zusammenhang mit den vielen themen, die in den threads 'wer mag cilla' und 'priscilla und garibaldi....' angerissen wurden, hier ein bericht aus den 'memphis daily news' vom 15.03.2006.
die mehrheitliche uebernahme von
EPE durch den grossinvestor CKX hatte in der elvis-fangemeinde monatelang fuer aufregung gesorgt angesichts wilder spekulationen um die moegliche umgestaltung / den moeglichen umbau von
graceland und einem befuerchteten ausufern des marketing im elvis-memorabilia bereich bis hin zu einem 'elvis-disney-land'.
das thema wird gewiss die fangemeinde auch noch lange beschaeftigen. dieser bericht gibt einige der stimmen aus memphis und speziell aus dem stadtteil whitehaven wieder, in dem
graceland bekanntlich gelegen ist. ueberdies gibt er ein wenig hintergrundinfo ueber die stadt und die rolle, die elvis fuer die heutige wirtschaft spielt.
wie immer erst das original, dann die uebersetzung. have fun!
It All Starts with Elvis
Whitehaven's tourist trade could hinge on Graceland
ANDREW ASHBY | The Daily News
A sign at the Days Inn at 3839 Elvis Presley Blvd. quotes John Lennon as saying, "Before Elvis, there was nothing" - a truth that could apply to rock 'n' roll or even Whitehaven's tourism industry. Though Elvis came and went, the tourists kept coming to the area, and now The King might be responsible for more.
Robert Sillerman, chairman and chief executive officer of CKX Inc., which paid $114 million for 85 percent of Elvis Presley Enterprises Inc. in 2005, has designs on the area.
He was in Memphis last month talking about the possibility of expanding
Graceland. Sillerman didn't go into many details, but said CKX is working with Orlando-based Bob Weis Design Island Associates Inc. to enhance
Graceland visitors' experiences.
Eldon "Doc" Holliday, owner of Winchester Tire and Alignment at 1830 Winchester Road, said he didn't know what to think when he heard Sillerman was buying a controlling interest in Elvis Presley Enterprises.
"But if he follows through with what he's saying, I think it's going to be great for Whitehaven," Holliday said.
Imagine all the people
Holliday said he's seen reports of the area around
Graceland becoming more like a resort, which can only help his business.
"When they have the big Elvis days, the birthdays and the death days, we get a lot of flow from that when people from out of town have a flat tire or car trouble," Holliday said. "We see quite a bit now, but I'm sure if there was something going on down there 12 months a year, I'm sure it would really be great."
Ashley Jones, assistant manager of
Graceland Outlet at 3855 Elvis Presley Blvd., also has been waiting for more news.
"From what I hear, they want to make it an attraction similar to Disneyland," she said.
Graceland Outlet, which sells closeout Elvis merchandise, has been in the same building for about 18 years. Jones said business has been good lately, and the store is expanding its retail space 50 percent, with construction scheduled to be finished in April. She said she expects even more business when CKX Inc. starts development.
"It's just going to be more people," Jones said. "There's just going to be so much more for the Elvis fans to do while they're here. Rather than just taking the tour and then going back to their hotel room or Downtown, there's been talk of a roller coaster, a small theme park maybe. We're waiting on them to finalize everything."
Burgeoning Elvibusiness
Cheryl Forbes, executive director of the Whitehaven Economic Development Corp., also is waiting to hear concrete plans on the future of the area surrounding
Graceland.
"We're trying to position ourselves to take advantage of any type of new development that
Graceland does," she said. "The recent announcement, although it wasn't specific, pointed out that there is going to be a need to broaden the attraction to draw more people to the community. It's what you need to keep people there to keep spending their money, whether it's attractions, restaurants or hotels."
Graceland's plans to develop entertainment venues could help Whitehaven slow the flow of businesses lured to Southaven by lower taxes. Forbes said this could bring more retail back to the area.
Holliday sees a similar trend.
"So many retail businesses and restaurants have moved to Southaven," he said. "At one time, we had some nice restaurants and shopping. Most of that is gone, but I have seen some of that coming back a little bit and I think something like this would bring a lot more back."
Medicine meets Elvis
Not all of Whitehaven's future relies on Elvis Presley.
The Memphis Regional Chamber discovered some interesting numbers while doing research for a grant.
"We looked at that North Whitehaven area, which includes Elvis Presley Boulevard, Brooks Road and the Nonconnah Corporate Center," said Larry Henson, vice president for research. "What we found was that there were approximately 7,000 people employed in the biomedical field in a two-square-mile corridor there."
Forbes said she was surprised at how many biomedical professionals were in the area.
"Of these professional employees, there are 1,200 Ph.D.s working for companies like Smith & Nephew, Symmetry Medical and Medtronic, which are located in this corridor," she said. "You look at what you need to attract industry to an area and usually they want to see similar businesses. I think being able to promote that area as a biomedical area is going to be good for Whitehaven in attracting that type of industry."
Not all the medical developments in Whitehaven have to do with the biomedical industry. Methodist Healthcare recently turned an abandoned Target in Whitehaven into a 100,000-square-foot medical office complex. The building is next door to Methodist South Hospital at 1300 Wesley Drive.
"I think that between the north anchor of Whitehaven with all of the (biomedical) device manufacturing and the south anchor with the Methodist Healthcare center, the future is pretty bright," Henson said. "You couple that with the new investment that's going in with
Graceland, and I think there's a good future for Whitehaven."
quelle:
http://www.memphisdailynews.com/Edit....aspx?id=92085
photo: ALL ABOUT ELVIS: Ashley Jones, assistant manager at
Graceland Outlet on Elvis Presley Boulevard, said the business is expanding by 50 percent. It could expand even more if
Graceland ups the ante on its attractions. -- Photograph by Andrew Ashby --
alles ueber elvis: ashley jones, assistentin der geschaeftsleitung des
graceland outlet store am elvis presley boulevard, berichtet, das geschaeft nehme um die haelfte zu. es koennte sich noch weiter ausdehnen, wenn
graceland fuer seine attraktionen den einsatz erhoeht.