Two events happened last week that both were touted to improve downtown areas.

One was the opening of the nearly $1 billion MGM Springfield casino complex and the other was the fourth annual Downtown Get Down in downtown Chicopee.

I know the comparison may seem to be a bit strained, but bear with me for a moment.

In the 18 years I covered Chicopee there has been an on-going sense that something needs to done to restore the downtown. People will recall clothing stores, a movie theater and food markets that made the area vibrant.

The movie theater is long since gone and the building has been partially redeveloped. The former library building has confounded two mayoral administrations for redevelopment. The last clothing store closed. There are vacant storefronts.

The Downtown Get Down was designed in part, according to a friend of mine who has a business downtown, to call attention to the area and what its offers.

He has yet to see a correlation between the annual street fair and increased business.

I’ll offer what I think are several simple truths for additional businesses to come and for the current businesses to thrive.

There needs to be more people making the downtown their neighborhood and these people need to spend their dollars as locally as possible.

The conversion of the former Cabotville Industrial complex into apartments will strengthen the residential part of the neighborhood. When there is a greater mass of people there will also be a greater interest in retail and services.

Right now, though, the existing businesses must seek ways to better market themselves and the area.

What is the city’s role in this? You tell me. Something has to be done with the library building but further use has eluded Mayors Bissonnette and Kos. Is it time to knock it down and re-use the land?

The Get Down is a positive event for a city that has long wanted an on-going summer festival ever since the original Kielbasa Festival died. I just don’t see it as a vehicle to encourage year-round business development.

Once the additional apartments open up, though, the city and other entities should be ready to market the area extensively.

Granted it was the grand opening of MGM Springfield, as opposed to the complex doing business as usual, something that won’t happen for weeks, but there were a lot of people simply walking through downtown Springfield this weekend – exactly what should have happened.

It was heartening.

With the growth of more residential properties in Springfield’s downtown I think the city is poised to see a real revival there. The Willy-Overland building on Chestnut Street and the Valley Ventures Mentors building on Bridge Street are projects that will add much to the area, as will the redevelopment of the Paramount Theater block.

Downtowns are problematic beasts these days but I think the components are there in both Chicopee and Springfield to create better days.

Was that Tom Brady?

Speaking of MGM, everything I experienced last week indicated the first class nature of how the company wants to operate here. From the press conference about the opening to the VIP party to the orderly manner opening day was handled it is only correct to congratulate the company on the job they did.

The most humorous aspect of the opening was the rumors though. I was told that Tom Brady and the pop singer Pitbull were wandering about the VIP party. Really?

Payton North, our assistant managing editor, checked the social media of those two celebs and it was clear they were not in Springfield.

The day of the opening there was a rumor floating about that Bruno Mars was in town and at MGM.

Again, he was not, at least according to his social media.

Thanks to some sort of omission, Reminder Publishing was not included in the media opportunity with actor Mark Wahlberg on Thursday. He indeed was in Springfield, although we didn’t see him in the flesh.

In the meantime I wonder who will be the next “celebrity sighting” – or not – at the casino.