Basically was just saying that the closing of the mall during the Relays was due to safety issues from past experiences and not having the resources to provide adequete security. Plain and simple.

Anyway, LOVE the photo of the macys wing, really nice w/ the trees and skylights! )

I noticed a few small typos in my above posting… I was running a bit late for something and did not have time to proofread it all before posting.

In the third paragraph, in the last sentence, It should’ve read “that frequent the mall during a large event. (omitting the next word “that”). Thanks!

In regards to you writing “It seems a questionable business decision to alienate your customer base by insinuating that an entire race of people are criminals.”, I think you missed the actual reasoning behind the mall’s closing during the Texas Relays event. In the past year(s) Highland Mall has had VERY bad experiences during the Relays. The video on Youtube of the fight and another that depicts the staggering amount of loitering show just a tiny bit and a few minutes worth of what happens there during the Relays. The mall (clearly) does not have the disposible income to hire needed, extra security during the Relays event.

Regarding race, the crowds that show up at the mall during the Relays, the ones who caused the unprecedented amount of problems for the mall, just so happen to be predominantly black. That’s just an unbiased fact. Furthermore, incase people aren’t aware, the mall already caters to a lower-income, large, if not predominantly black clientele… so to call the mall racist against blacks is in essence a hypocritical statement. Also, even though the Relays drew christmas-sized crowds to the mall, it did not bring in revenue. Infact, the mall was operating at a loss afterwards. (Read up on it in the story featured in the Daily Texan or just google it and read some of the personal stories/comments shared there.) So, when Highland Mall recalled its past Texas Relays event experiences, including crime & loss statistics, a realistic situation the mall had to face was: Leave the mall open and worry about patrons getting injured during all the malay and possibly sue the mall for lack of security, and to operate at a loss like the year prior, OR close the mall early and deal with the unhappiness and political repercussions it may bring. Either way was a no-win situation for the mall and i’m pretty sure they knew that. Let me repeat, the mall simply does not have the disposible income to spend on extra security to babysit troublemakers (of any race/age) that frequent the mall during a large event that… One that has had real problems in the past.

Bottom line: The mall closed for safety and economic reasons. It’s all about statitistics, lack of funds and the mall having knowledge/experience of what happened in prior years during the Texas Relays event.

It’s actually a fairly well done streetscape-style outdoor mall and will unquestionably be the best retail destination in Austin once the expansion is done. Currently it’s quite a bit smaller than Barton Creek but it won’t be for long.