Development ideas for Cape go downtown

Imagine downtown Cape Girardeau on a typical summer night. Now add in the bright lights and crowd noises of a minor league baseball game, the bass and percussion of a jazz festival bouncing off the historic buildings and the soft glow of an outdoor movie theater. That is the downtown envisioned by recent graduates of Leadership Cape.

Less than 24 hours after graduating from the program, this year's group of up-and-coming professionals presented community improvement proposals to the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce's monthly First Friday Coffee at the Show Me Center. The proposals detailed four ideas to improve Cape Girardeau's downtown, including a baseball stadium with a minor league team, an outdoor movie theater, a jazz festival -- all aiming at increased patronage of the district by young adults.

The first presentation was made by bow-tied, would-be theater ushers passing out bags of popcorn to the crowd. They set the scene for the proposal to create Cape Summer Screen, an outdoor family cinema that would be located downtown to create a family atmosphere.

"Our goal is to add to the entertainment value of downtown," said group leader Brock Aspaugh.

The project would require the purchase of a projector and a big screen that would be set up at a yet-to-be-chosen downtown location on Friday and Saturday evenings during eight weeks of summer. Free tickets to the show would be distributed by downtown merchants. The group proposed that funding for the cinema could be raised from concession sales, advertising, city partnership, grant application or downtown development organizations.

The chamber started Leadership Cape in 1985. The project is a seven-month leadership training program for prospective community leaders that is capped off by these group proposals.

"These projects create a sense of teamwork among the participants, while at the same time letting creative minds think about and come up with projects to improve our city and our region's economy," said Cathi Schlosser, director of membership development for the chamber.

Many projects from previous years -- like the Speakers Bureau and the skateboard park -- have actually been implemented.

The second group stuck with the downtown entertainment theme but passed out peanuts to the crowd. Wearing a ball cap and carrying a bat, Michael Wells said his group proposes establishing or recruiting a minor league baseball team for Cape Girardeau.

Under the proposal, the team itself -- dubbed the Cape Crusaders -- would be owned by stockholding citizens. The stadium, to be located on the north riverfront, would be built -- complete with medieval castle motif -- through private funding. To achieve a view of the river over the floodwall, the stadium would be perched atop a parking garage, which would accommodate spectators and other downtown customers alike.

The final group proposed more entertainment for downtown, envisioning a Riverfront Jazz Festival welcoming the Grandpa Woo luxury yacht, which offered excursions on the Mississippi River from Cape Girardeau for the first time this summer.

Featuring local and regional bands as well as area artists, the two-day festival would attract people of all ages downtown.

In addition to promoting the boat, the festival would also promote downtown businesses that would benefit from the increased traffic by both local residents and tourists. Those people would be attracted by the festival and other unique events that could be held at the same time, such as a Jazz Fest 5K or a downtown "Shop 'til you Drop" for district merchants.

The festival would be funded largely through sponsorship and public donations.

Along with Leadership Cape's offerings, a proposal to increase youth consumer presence downtown was presented by Cape Central High School junior Sarah Goeke.

Because current riverfront commerce is geared more toward bars and clubs, Goeke said, people her age have never felt a desire to go downtown. She said the key is to get teenagers to the area by way of special events and service projects to show them that there are things they can do.

Goeke, a 16-year-old antique enthusiast, has accepted a position as an adviser to the board of Old Town Cape, the downtown community development program.

trehagen@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137