Groundbreaking Held For Comedy Center Park in Jamestown

JAMESTOWN, N.Y. -- Lucie Arnaz thinks the work underway in Jamestown to build Comedy Center Park is exactly what her parents, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, would have wanted. It is near the land of the potential National Comedy Center.

spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/buffalo/archives/2014/08/11/groundbreaking-held-for-comedy-center-park-in-jamestown.NY_759751
​"There’s never been a National Comedy Center. And they're building it, and I think my mother, my father would be so honored to have it in their memory, to have it here in association with the Lucy Desi Center."
The $33 million park is on the riverfront in front of the Gateway Train Station, which is the proposed site of a National Comedy Center. Fundraising and design work is ongoing for that project, organizers say. But organizers also say the park itself will be a draw.
"It’s a hidden treasure from our community," said Mike Latone, a board treasurer. "And once it all paved down in there and manicured and grass is mowed and pavers are down, it’s there for people to come and use."
Board members are confident the final project will be entertaining.
"You’ll be able to interact with the exhibits and do some of your own comedy routines. It's going to be ground-breaking technology," said Lou Deppas, board vice president.
City officials hope it will spur economic development.

"It will spin off a lot of additional business. I think it will bring a lot of people into Jamestown who will recognize it and hopefully will bring in that one person that sees something really big and want to locate their business here," said Vince DeJoy, Jamestown director of development.
The board is waiting on a $6 million grant from the state to help with funding. Construction on the park should be done by October.
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spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/buffalo/archives/2014/08/11/groundbreaking-held-for-comedy-center-park-in-jamestown.NY_759751