I'm stealing the press release from SLCSpin, who was the first to break this.
NEWS RELEASE
May 3, 2006
Contact: Peter Corroon, Mayor—468-3333/468-3380
Stadium Proposal Turned Down
Mayor Peter Corroon today announced his decision to deny ReAL Salt Lake’s request for $35 million in public financing for land purchase and infrastructure improvements for the soccer stadium site near 9400 South State Street in Sandy. “The numbers just don’t work for Salt Lake County,” says Mayor Corroon. “To get $35 million, we’d have to bond for $48.5 million and end up paying back $87.5 million over the life of the loan.”
County funding for the land purchase would have been generated through the legislatively approved extension of the 1.25% of the Transient Room Tax (TRT), which was to expire in 2015.
TRT, charged to consumers for overnight accommodations in hotels and motels, is used by the county for the Salt Palace Convention Center, South Towne Exposition Center and major funding for the Salt Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau’s tourism and convention promotion programs.
“ReAL Salt Lake is a great addition to our community and I hope an alternative funding source is possible,” says Mayor Corroon. He adds that one possibility, if ReAL wants to put the issue before the voters, is a general obligation bond that would go on the ballot in November.
“The problem comes from attempting to give $35 million to ReAL now, when the major repayment source doesn’t start for almost 10 years,” says Darrin Casper, County Chief Financial Officer. “It is just too costly.”
Ten-year interest only payments do not meet Salt Lake County’s internal debt policies and do not match Mayor Corroon’s conservative fiscal practices. “Spending an additional $18 million up front for interest payments is not a good use of taxpayer money,” says Mayor Corroon.
4 comments:
SLC SPIN wasn't the first to break this. It was posted in the SL Tribune 2 hours before it was posted on SLC SPIN.
Actually, I posted the news on my site: www.stenar.org an hour before SLC SPIN and emailed Ethan to tell him about it. I found the news on the SL Trib website.
regardless (or "irregardless" of who wants to lay claim to who scooped whom, the point remains that Coroon took a fiscally conservative stand on behalf of the people of the county. SLTRIB is reporting good response to this in the op/eds and columnist areas as well.
Let's face it, until REAL can prove they have a valid business concern, it's foolish to think that we (of hotel guests, or whatever) should foot the bill to build them a brand new home. It's no different than saying this:
"hey, I want to build a house. I have SOME money right now, but not much, you'll need to pay for the closing costs, and I want an interest-only loan. I have to tell you thuogh, that my employment is shakey - I have no real job "history" per se, but I THINK I can keep it going into the future, we'll have to see how that goes for me."
oh, wait, that happens all the time - my bad.
:)
**(or "irregardless", if you're from Utah)**
Sorry 'bout that - it helps if you READ the post before you push the button...
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