Amarillo in 2021, After I-40 Is Done
The future is bright for Amarillo!
The daily grind is difficult for Amarillo motorists these days. With every overpass on Amarillo’s stretch of I-40 being built or scheduled for demolition, I-40 Is absolutely brutal. In addition to the Soncy lane flip, the interchange and more, there’s more parking space on I-40 than downtown Amarillo. And there’s so much torn up downtown even the homeless people have given up on that endless resuscitation.
But there is hope, right? It wouldn’t be worth enduring these crummy days without the promise of a brighter tomorrow. Unfortunately, the future is uncertain and no one can accurately predict it. That doesn’t mean we can’t try.
Here are a few of the things I see in Amarillo’s future. Specifically, 2021.
By 2021 the only road work on I-40 from Bushland to Panhandle will be patching and sealing. The interstate will be openly shared by travelers, Amarilloans, and flyover drug mules.
The new baseball stadium will be built and hosting our new team, The Amarillo Hail Cores. In 2021 they will play for the championship of Texas league. Unfortunately, they will lose the series to the Tulsa Drillers led by leadoff hitter Tim Tebow.
Late 2021 the owners of The Chase tower, dealing with years of vacancies and unable to find a buyer will donate the building to Faith City Missions who will use it as a homeless shelter.
In 2021 Amarillo will finally have a Dave & Busters, a Shake Shack, and a Cheesecake Factory. But the area will be no longer have a JCPenney, Radio Shack, or Burger King.
After several years of disappointing attendance to the Center City Arts Festival, they will come to their senses and relaunch the event in 2021 as “The Center City Arts Festival & Block Party”.
After a tradition of bringing in Texas Country music acts to perform at Homer’s Backyard Ball, the charitable foundation will book Kid Rock for 2021. The Homer’s Backyard Ball Foundation will raise enough money to cure cancer.
Due to chronic overcrowding Canyon will ban everyone outside Canyon from the Canyon Aqua Park. Amarillo will vote to build a municipal water park in 2021. It will replace the parking lot of the Civic Center and the downtown library. Hereford will also build a water park, a slip n' slide and one of those lawn sprinklers shaped like a tractor.
West Texas A&M students will clone a Buffalo and teach it sign language. For 2021 WT football home games the buffalo will sign its handler a preference to stay in Jones Hall, listen to the game on the radio and get high instead of going to the stadium.
Don’t let all the traffic cones and construction cranes frustrate you too highly. Even if all I foresee doesn’t work out, the future is bright for Amarillo. And it will happen quicker than you think. Think of today as freshman year. All this road work and construction mess will be a pleasant memory by the time Amarillo graduates. The senior year for you and Amarillo will be here before you know it. After all, high school didn’t last all that long, right?