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Now is the time for increased conversations about nightlife at the redeveloped base of Steamboat Ski Area.

SKI Magazine's readers perennially give Steamboat low marks for aprÃs ski and nightlife, and the trend held true in the recent release of the magazine's 2008 resort rankings.

"Some readers complain that : during renovations 'the base village doesn't have much to offer,'" SKI's October issue reads, citing feedback from its annual Reader Resort Survey.

We noted with irony this week that the readers of SKI Magazine gave the Steamboat Ski Area low marks for its antiquated base area, and also marked Steamboat down for fixing the problem.

Vacationing skiers don't appreciate 1960s and 1970s buildings. Nor do they like being inconvenienced by the construction projects that will modernize the base of the ski area. That's the way it goes sometimes.

Building new luxury condominiums could boost Steamboat into the top 10 in the SKI readers' poll in terms of resort accommodations. But that won't change the perception that beyond dinner, there's not much to do after dark in the 'Boat.

Let's face it; if you went out on the town dancing in Steamboat this year, you were probably attending a wedding or a fundraiser.

That's why this winter, as redevelopment continues, is a good time for further discussions about new entertainment venues at the ski base.

The resort community, working closely with the city of Steamboat Springs, is taking great strides toward making the base of the ski area more appealing to vacationers and residents alike. The new pedestrian promenade along Burgess Creek should draw visitors to the base area in summer.

At the same time these improvements are undertaken, the antiquated building that housed the Steamboat Mountain Theater is being torn down. We've noted that a couple of new nightspots have emerged in downtown Steamboat. But the Tugboat, with its tiny dance floor, is the only venue consistently hosting live bands at the base of the ski area.

Steamboat Ski & Resort Corp. is back in the city planning process seeking to renew its permit to erect a music tent, in The Knoll day skier parking lot, during January 2009. Ski Corp. has made annual music festivals - one that attracts fans of alt-country music and another that attracts rock fans - a foundation of its mid-winter marketing strategy.

Intrawest Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing Andy Wirth tells us that different genres of music offer a precision tool for attracting targeted demographics to the resort.

We're mindful that The Knoll won't be a parking lot forever, but Wirth said this week it's not going away anytime soon, either. And he added that the economics of supporting a bricks-and-mortar concert venue are "materially different" from erecting a tent every January. We get it. But many of those shows are booked up by a travel/tour operator and represent tough tickets for independent vacationers and residents.

Wirth did acknowledge that informal discussions have taken place among resort leaders about a future convention center, and how musical programming could be accommodated there. That's something to look forward to.

We recognize that the economics might be challenging, but we also think it would be beneficial to the resort and the broader community if the redeveloped base area included a smaller music venue than a convention center.

If not a grand concert hall like the Vilar Center in Beaver Creek, perhaps just a smaller and more modern version of The Fillmore Auditorium on East Colfax Avenue in Denver.

We're aware of parties working quietly behind the scenes to do something in this area. The broader community might best be served by a public exchange of ideas.

If we miss the opportunity that presents itself within the decade, it might not come around for another 40 years.