September 29, 2006
Magic close to arena deal?
The Orlando Sentinel reports that the Orlando Magic are close to a deal for a new downtown arena, with an official announcement expected as early as today. As for the mystery of the "significant" amount of money that the team had promised to contribute to the $385 million pot, it's apparently $100 million - though only about $40 million of it would be in cash, with the rest coming from future arena revenues and a "credit guarantee," which the Sentinel compared to co-signing a loan.
As for what those future arena revenues would be, nobody's saying just yet - so it's always possible that the Magic intend to count, say, naming-rights fees for a public building as part of their "contribution." It's certainly been done before.
What's lit a fire under the Magic arena talks? According to the Sentinel, "the specter of downtown Orlando losing the arena [to a cheaper location just outside town] appears to have sparked a serious surge in negotiations." Ah, leverage.
—Neil deMause
Yeesh, what a ripoff. I hope Orlando voters are as mad about this as Sacramento voters are about their proposal.
What are they looking at, a 10% contribution (once you figure in the Future Value of Money)?
Take a hike, Magic. The financials behind pro sports just get shakier by the hour.
Posted by MikeM on September 29, 2006 04:51 PM