RALEIGH - The Friends of Dorothea Dix Park and Dix 306 are proud to see support rallying across Raleigh to help preserve all 306 acres of the Dorothea Dix Hospital campus as a world-class destination park.

Now, what about paying for it?

The Friends' Web site explains multiple financing options compatible with the park plan. To us, a recent article on this page saying that citizens need to closely scrutinize a financing mechanism that is being proposed, and to think critically about the consequences, makes perfect sense. We encourage exactly that.

Certainly tax-increment financing, discussed in that article, is one option on the table, but there are many options for sustaining a park in the Capital City. The right choice for North Carolina is to preserve the land for a world-class destination park for future generations, for our economic vitality and to sustain our quality of life.

The economic impact of a Dix Park will be far-reaching. It will include increased tourism, increased real estate values and an incentive for new companies to come to the area. According to an economic impact study, "Dix Park 306," conducted by Dr. Gene Brothers at N.C. State University and Brent Lane from the UNC Center for Competitive Economies, the park plan can yield $390 million in economic impact over 10 years for each 1 percent increase in Raleigh tourism. In addition, the park plan complements the more than $1 billion that private and public sources have invested to revitalize downtown.

Why would we build something on Dix campus that would compete with this investment?

Rather than taking away customers from downtown merchants, the park will bring new people into the city who will then explore downtown shops and stay at downtown hotels.

In order to maintain our ranking as one of the best places to live and work, we must make this investment and preserve the Dix campus as a destination park. North Carolina prides itself on attracting the best and brightest, and we will have to offer more reasons for others to come and invest in our state. We are no longer competing with South Carolina; we are competing with Silicon Valley and China, and it is mandatory that we offer the complete package, including a world-class destination park.

Per capita, New York City's Central Park is three times the size of the Dix campus. In 1857, when Central Park was created, Manhattan had a population of 724,000. Central Park (843 acres) provided one acre per 859 citizens.

The 2007 population of Wake County is approximately 817,429, a little larger than Manhattan when Central Park was established. Dix Park would provide open space for 2,671 citizens per park acre (Dix Park being 306 acres). One hundred and fifty years from now, will North Carolinians regret saving Raleigh's Central Park?

Call us visionary, but we think not. Once this last sanctuary in the heart of urban chaos is gone, we will never be able to get it back.

We must move forward with a vision for the future and determination to do what is right, rather than settle for a quick fix. The Friends' plan is the best plan for our children and future generations.

Some of North Carolina's greatest assets are the result of leaders who made a sacrifice, had foresight and understood the value of preservation. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to honor the legacy of Dorothea Dix and to give the greatest gift to future generations.

Yes, determining the right mix of public and private financing will take time and hard work. But nothing worth having comes easily.

In 100 years, not one of our grandchildren will look at us and say, "I'm sure glad you decided to sell off what used to be 306 acres of open space. Who needs all those trees?"

But if we turn our back on this opportunity and sell a North Carolina resource to the highest bidder, there will be a great deal to say about us, and none of it will be praise.

The Friends of Dorothea Dix Park plan is fully compatible with many financing options. At the appropriate time, all parties must be involved in determining the best finance options in an open process. Before we ever reach that point, we must do the right thing for the right reasons in the right way. Preserving all 306 acres as a world-class destination park -- for our quality of life, for our economic stability and for future generations -- is just the right thing to do.

(Jay Spain is board president of Friends of Dorothea Dix Park.)

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