We’ve been on deadline, and I’m coming to this a little late, but you should read this recent Bud Kennedy column if you haven’t already. The gist:
We are not as powerful a city as we used to be, and the proof is as close as Colonial Country Club.
Once, about six phone calls would have rounded up sponsors for a pro golf charity benefit to raise $13 million and put Fort Worth on network TV all weekend.
Not anymore.
The electronics, retail and energy giants that used to support Fort Worth arts, charities and causes are no longer around. Or they aren’t in any shape to help.
It’s an interesting conundrum for a city that is still growing and will soon break into the top 15 of largest U.S. cities. Kennedy says all that growth, though, is coming from technical and warehouse jobs. “We’re not growing executives,” he writes. “We’re not growing headquarters, or leaders, or decision-makers.”
And yet, every time ESPN comes to town for a big game, they erect their outdoor set in downtown Fort Worth, not Dallas.
