[jesse--james]

Originally Posted by mattpoulsen

No, I'm listing two stadiums that had a deep rooted tradition and attachment with their respective communities. People were attached to them...just like Rosenblatt! The point is Rosenblatt will be, and eventually needs to, retired in the same way stadiums around the U.S. are. It'll be hard to let it go, but we need to move on. Its more like comparing Fugi Apples to Gala Apples!

Let me know when a top tier pro team is going to move into this new stadium and then I'll agree.

[jesse--james]

The taxpayers are left holding the bag for the qwest center and will be left holding it for any new stadium too!!!!



Published Tuesday | January 25, 2005
Omaha says arena subsidy isn't figured right
BY C. DAVID KOTOK
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER




Mayor Mike Fahey is making an all-out effort to persuade state officials to take a fresh and more generous approach to paying a $75 million subsidy for the convention center at Qwest Center Omaha.

The city intends to make the case that it already has "been shorted more than $1.1 million" during construction of the convention center, said Jennifer Mahlendorf, deputy chief of staff to Fahey.

Perhaps more critical for the city is the prospect of never receiving the full $75 million pledged by the Nebraska Legislature and then-Gov. Mike Johanns, Mahlendorf and City Finance Director Carol Ebdon said.

That could happen if convention and meeting business does not pick up.

At stake are Omaha residents' property tax bills. Without a significant increase in convention business or a change in how the state figures subsidy payments, the city will need to tap local property taxes to pay off debt incurred to build the convention center.

The Fahey administration hired an economist, Ernie Goss of Creighton University, for $17,200 to help loosen the strings the state has put on the subsidy purse. Goss' 51-page report disputes how the state has calculated its share of the convention center financing and calls it too stingy.

Fahey's recent letter to the state and the hiring of Goss are just the latest administration efforts to maximize money the city receives from the state. Fahey has written and spoken with Johanns during the last year to clarify the subsidy formula.

Members of the Fahey administration have tried to work through a number of details during the last six months with the State Department of Revenue.

A five-member board headed by Gov. Dave Heineman will have to decide whether to adopt Goss' payout formula or the one developed by the Nebraska Revenue Department.

State Tax Commissioner Mary Jane Egr said the five-member board must decide by early April to give the Legislature time to change the payout formula.

"We hope they will look on it favorably," Mahlendorf said.

Fahey wrote state officials: "As you know, this is a critical issue to the financing of our Qwest Center and the overall debt burden and financial challenges facing our city."

A central issue in the city appeal is how to value the economic impact of out-of-town workers who helped build the convention center.

Another is how to set the financial multipliers for each person attending a convention.

Construction of the adjoining arena and attendance at arena events are not counted for the subsidy.

State lawmakers tied payments toward their $75 million convention-center pledge to proof that the center had attracted new business to Nebraska and, as a result, generated new tax revenue.

How much of the subsidy is paid each year depends on a series of assumptions, said Goss and David Dearmont, a Revenue Department economist.

Omaha is to get 70 percent of any additional state income and sales tax revenue the convention center generates to make payments on the bonds it used to finance construction. The remaining 30 percent is to go toward creating convention and tourist attractions in other Nebraska towns.

Over the last three years the state has transferred $1,228,312 to the city on the basis of the taxes generated by convention-center construction.

Goss said he calculated that the city should have received nearly $2.4 million.

Among the differences is the treatment of the out-of-town workers on the $291 million project.

The state assumed that much of the income paid to out-of-town workers left the state and didn't generate more Nebraska sales and income taxes. Goss assumed that the workers paid much more in sales taxes as they stayed in motels and ate at restaurants.

Beyond that difference, Goss argues for a more generous formula for calculating the payout for new conventions.

The city is requesting $307,652 for seven qualifying conventions during the center's first nine months of operation. Those seven added $8.6 million to the city's economy, Goss estimated.

A convention or meeting must be new to the city, disqualifying such major events as the annual Berkshire Hathaway meeting, which attracts thousands of out-of-towners. Before moving to the convention center in 2004, the company held its annual meeting at the Civic Auditorium.

In addition, for a convention to trigger a subsidy a majority of those attending must be from states other than Nebraska.

That requirement can be a challenge. A Gallup Organization corporate gathering in October 2003 was expected to qualify but was knocked out because slightly more than half of the 1,100 who attended were Nebraskans. The same problem disqualified a regional Mary Kay gathering in March 2004.

Mahlendorf and Ebdon said they expect the subsidy to increase as convention and meeting bookings grow. The state subsidy was expected to top $2 million this year, $3 million by 2008 and $4 million by 2018.

Omaha has until 2027, when the final bond payment is made, to collect the full $75 million.

"Obviously, we'd like to get the entire $75 million," Ebdon said. "We anticipate the numbers growing."

[WARNYOU]

I drove past the "Blatt" last night from my Downtown Job. It was packed!

Zesto's had a line out to the street, venders were set up, BBQ grills were going. I thought the CWS was in Town.....No, the Huskers and Creighton ball ball game was going on. That is proof that Omaha is not a Baseball town.
When the Royal's play you can here crickets around the place. It only gets the crowds when there is a big college game "every once in a while", and the CWS. Throwing a ball park at the city for the sake of trying develop for the sake of developing is wrong. And last night was proof.

[mattpoulsen]

I absolutely agree. It was packed because Creighton was playing Nebraska in baseball!! It had nothing to do with the royals! Now imagine a stadium down by Creighton. The bottom line is the Royals are a AAA baseball team...no one really cares. If it weren't for the CWS Rosenblatt would have been torn down a long time ago. Its because of the CWS that constant updates and improvements were made. Do you think $20 million in improvements would have occurred if only the Royals played at the Blatt?? Absolutely not! Omaha has to do everything it can to retain the CWS...that is where the value is.

Ideally, I would love to see Rosenblatt torn down and a new stadium built in its place at its current location, but that isn't going to happen.

[jesse--james]

Originally Posted by mattpoulsen

If it weren't for the CWS Rosenblatt would have been torn down a long time ago. Its because of the CWS that constant updates and improvements were made. Do you think $20 million in improvements would have occurred if only the Royals played at the Blatt??

The recent $20 million spent on Rosenblatt needs to be paid off before this city gambles on a new stadium. The gamble with the Qwest center is not paying itself off as promised.

[mattpoulsen]

If we don't "gamble" on a new stadium we're going to lose the CWS. The tax revenue generated by the CWS, when integrated over several years, easily makes up for that difference.

[jesse--james]

The NCAA has not laid down the gauntlet with a "new stadium or else" scenario -- but now that "spend spend spend" Fahey promised one they probobly expect one. But I guess that's o.k. with you because Fahey is your hero. He's says we need a new stadium and there you are leading the cheerleading section applauding with your pinkies in a flouncily manner.
I'll bet if Fahey told you to take a crap on the deck of the Belle of Brownville and hour later they would be hosing it down with disinfectant!!!!

[mattpoulsen]

No, the NCAA hasn't said its a new stadium or else. But they have openly admitted that they always consider other options and a new stadium is something they'd report. These type of conversations take place behind closed doors! You won't hear about it until its a done deal.

I'll bet if Fahey told you to take a crap on the deck of the Belle of Brownville and hour later they would be hosing it down with disinfectant!!!!

Grow up.

[ehenningsen]

I'll bet that you think spending $25,000,000 just to upkeep a crappy stadium for a year is okay, while $50,000,000 on a brand new stadium with more seating and much more family friendly with alot more amendities around it, and alot less maintenance for many years (in result saving money) and potentially saving the CWS from leaving the city is a terrible option...

[jesse--james]

Originally Posted by ehenningsen

I'll bet that you think spending $25,000,000 just to upkeep a crappy stadium for a year is okay, while $50,000,000 on a brand new stadium with more seating and much more family friendly with alot more amendities around it, and alot less maintenance for many years (in result saving money) and potentially saving the CWS from leaving the city is a terrible option...

$25,000,000 on Rosenblatt would bring it up to modern standards -- you are just bad-talking it and uptalking the wastefull option that we can't afford.