Triangle Game Initiative

Dear Triangle Game Initiative Member:

David Diaz, Downtown Raleigh Alliance President and CEO, and I want to thank you for supporting the recent Triangle Game Conference held in downtown Raleigh. We learned a lot about the scope of your industry through meeting many people at our exhibit booth as well as interacting with speakers and attendees during the conference. The Downtown Raleigh Alliance works to champion downtown as a vibrant and innovative core in the Triangle. Wayne Watkins, Wake Economic Development, who assisted with the coordination of the Triangle Game Conference, aptly stated, "Downtown Raleigh is experiencing tremendous growth with over $2.5 billion in private and public investments including major projects such as the Raleigh Convention Center. It is emerging as a prime location for a variety of business development opportunities." Approximately $700 million of investment was completed downtown during 2008 alone.

Downtown Raleigh offers numerous amenities for employees, residents, and visitors alike. Over 170 restaurants, bars and cafes offer something for everyone's palette. Arts and cultural venues provide enthusiasts with live music, visual and performing arts, exhibits, and a variety of entertainment choices. And residents can find a wide scope of urban dwellings such as apartments for lease, low-, mid-, and high-rise condominiums, townhouses, and single-family homes both new and old. I encourage you to learn more about downtown Raleigh and our new branding campaign at www.YouRHere.com.

Author Richard Florida impacted economic development practices by highlighting the shift in the importance of quality of life to an employee over loyalty to a company in his book, The Rise of the Creative Class. He noted employees will increasingly choose a place to live before they decide on the company with which to work because their talents will be in high demand and their preference is to live in an urban area. Many employees of gaming companies in the Triangle already live in downtown Raleigh. Residents can enjoy the proximity of amenities and an urban lifestyle and many are fortunate enough to be able to walk, bike, or take the free circulator R-Line bus to work downtown.

We look forward to learning more about the needs of the gaming industry in the Triangle region and hope there may be opportunities to engage companies to locate downtown.

Sincerely,

Paul C. Reimel
Economic Development Manager