Amalgamation

[tvot]

6) Ownerships (Kitchener Utilities, Kitchener Rangers, Kitchener City Hall) Waterloo, owns nothing of significant importance like this. The U of Waterloo remains U of Waterloo no matter the outcome.
7) Festivals & Special Events -- Kitchener has way more going for this than Waterloo. Bluesfest, Rib and Beer Fest, Multicultural Festival, Cruising on King, Christkindl Market, etc. I think Waterloo has the Jazz Fest, Comedy Fest and Buskers, but Kitchener does have more going on, especially the summer.
8) Kitchener Memorial Auditorium. The place is historically significant, and very busy, not just with the Rangers, but with concerts (Waterloo really has nothing), and Shows (RV Show, Home and Garden Show, Wine and Food Show, etc). Not that the name could be changed though.

6. Doesn't Waterloo North Hydro count as something if Kitchener Utilities counts? Waterloo also has a city hall, but it's mediocre and I would definitely approve of Kitchener City Hall being the seat of local government if amalgamation happens.

7. Jazz Fest and Buskers are pretty big, not Blues Fest big, but respectable and definitely a draw to out-of-town visitors. Living in Uptown I'm actually amazed how much is going on in the summer, there is something in the public square every weekend and Waterloo Park multiple weekends a month (medieval festival, afro-canadian festival, other cultural groups).

8. There are regional, provincial, and national sporting events at RIM Park and the Waterloo Memorial Rec Complex, not really any concerts, but they are respectably busy. The Aud still wins.

FYI: I'm just addressing these points alone, not really in relation to how things would play out if amalgamation were in play.

As a life-long Waterloo resident who worked at a Kitchener community centre in high school, I agree that in general Kitchener seems to be the better run city on average, but I'm not sure how much that will have to do with anything the province actually does to us.