July 31, 2007
Harwell marshals Tiger preservation plan
Hall of Fame broadcaster Ernie Harwell may not have won over the Detroit city council, but he's nonetheless moving ahead with a new plan to save part of Tiger Stadium. Harwell and colleague S. Gary Spicer say they've already raised $300,000 to pay maintenance on the 95-year-old stadium for the next year, and plan to meet with financiers over the next ten days to raise $15-20 million to retain Tiger Stadium in a reduced 10,000-seat "Navin Field" configuration (the original name of the park before it was expanded in the 1930s), with the rest of the site being used for "lofts, stores and music and sports museums," according to the Detroit News. One local greeting-card company has already expressed interest into moving to the site if the ballpark is preserved.
The Detroit Economic Development Growth Corp., the city's economic development arm, declined the offer of maintenance payments, and says it's moving ahead with plans to raze the park - though the council still hasn't actually approved transferring the stadium to the development corporation so it can carry out the demolition. Development corporation president told the News, "We can't stop the process," then added confusingly, "Let's see if they can come up with the firm financing." And if they do, and you really can't stop the process, then what?
One other notable item: Harwell gave his press conference inside Tiger Stadium, and the News described the place as "surprisingly well-maintained," with "peeling paint and cracked cement the only indications of its age." Apparently reports of its decrepitude were premature.
NYC on hook for Yankees garage losses?
New York City comptroller William Thompson's office tells Patrick Arden of Metro New York that if the three new parking garages being built for the Yankees fail to turn a profit, the city could be liable for any shortfall. Under a deal proposed (but not yet finalized) earlier this year, a non-profit corporation, the Community Initiatives Development Corp., will use $190 million in city tax-exempt bond financing to build the garages, repaying itself from garage revenues, and passing along part of any money left over to the city.
As Arden reported earlier this month, though, the city projects that the garages will only bring in revenue from Yankees game days - and at $25 a car for 81 home games, that would be barely enough to break even. (My own calculations here when the garage deal was first proposed resulted in a similar conclusion.) If Yankee fans start turning to mass transit, then - or attendance drops at any point - the CIDC could default on its bonds, which the city would then have to cover, sending the already skyrocketing public cost of the "no taxpayer subsidies" stadium toward three-quarters of a billion dollars.
July 27, 2007
Council votes on Tiger Stadium, and ... you'd better just read the story
The Detroit city council turned down Ernie Harwell's plea to give him time to mediate between the city and groups wishing to preserve part of Tiger Stadium, instead casting a vote today on Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's plan to raze it and have an as-yet-undetermined developer build condos in its place. Two votes, in fact, which is where it starts to get confusing:
- The council voted 5-4 (I haven't been able to find a record of who voted which way yet) to approve the mayor's demolition plan.
- The council voted 6-3 not to transfer title to the stadium to the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation, the agency that would need to carry out the demolition.
- The council voted (no voting tally reported yet) to allow the city to begin selling off seats and other memorabilia from the 95-year-old ballpark as soon as next month.
As for what this all means, according to council president Kenneth Cockrel, the council intends to hold off on demolition for a bit longer, though since it's already endorsed the mayor's plan and authorized the sale of any historic bits of the stadium that would allow it to be preserved, it's hard to see what they're waiting for. "I talked earlier of not wanting to turn this into a soap opera," Cockrel told the Detroit Free Press. "It looks like it's going to be a soap opera for at least a little while longer."
If any FoS readers watched the actual proceedings and can add to this account, please do so in the Comments section below.
Orlando arena approved
The Orlando Sentinel's predictions turned out to be dead-on: The Orange County Commission voted 5-2 yesterday to approve a development package that includes a new Magic arena, renovated Citrus Bowl, and new performing arts center, with commissioners Fred Brummer and Tiffany Moore the only dissenters. Brummer's proposal for a public vote on the project failed by the same margin.
The biggest piece of the $1.1 billion project is the Magic arena, which the city will build with $480 million, mostly in tax dollars, on city-owned land. The team is chipping in $50 million in cash, $12 million in lease payments, and $25 million to build five community gyms. All arena revenues will go either to the Magic or to the Predators arena football franchise.
Writes sports columnist Mike Bianchi in today's Sentinel: "It would have been a serious breach of journalism ethics, but there was a little part of me that wanted to run up and high-five [Orlando mayor] Rich Crotty. Or put on one of those big foam fingers and start chanting, 'Rich, Rich, he's our man. He's gonna pass this venue plan!'" Writing yesterday that a no vote would "turn Orlando into Birmingham" and that "this entire deal is the biggest no-lose proposition since NBA ref Tim Donaghy made his last bet," though, that's just sports journalism as usual.
July 26, 2007
Orlando arena vote today
Florida's Orange County Commission votes on Orlando's proposal for a $1.1 billion development that would include a new Magic arena today (the Orlando city council already voted for the project Monday, but they don't count), and I've been sadly neglectful of keeping up with the story in recent days. A rundown of the latest developments:
- An economic impact study by the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission found that a new arena, renovated Orange Bowl, and new performing arts center would generate $620 million a year in economic activity - but not all of that would be new economic activity, since much of it would just replace dollars currently spent at existing facilities. Asked how much of the spending would actually be new to the region, consultant Bill Rhoda, who helped prepare the study, told the Orlando Sentinel: "I couldn't even hazard a guess." Why are they paying him the big bucks again?
- Orange County comptroller Martha Haynie said she can't endorse the plans because the financing would rely on continued growth in tourist taxes, meaning if tourism took a nosedive, the project could run out of money.
- The Magic offered to kick in an unspecified amount of money to build community gyms in Orlando, and to build "the nation's first eco-friendly NBA arena," whatever that means. (Beer cups made from corn plastic?)
- A hotel lobbyist is reportedly pushing the state legislature to allow hotel taxes to be used for anti-crime measures rather than development projects like the arena.
- The Sentinel editorialized in favor of the development plan, on the grounds that the city needs a place to stage more lavish musicals.
The Sentinel handicaps the vote as likely being 5-2 in favor of the arena plan, with all five votes needed because a supermajority is necessary to redirect tax money for the project. One of the two sure dissenters, commissioner Tiffany Moore, has called for the Magic to put in more money and for a vote to be delayed until after a public referendum on property-tax changes set for next January.
Tiger Stadium vote postponed to September?
The Detroit city council may be putting off tomorrow's vote on the fate of Tiger Stadium until at least September, at the request of councilmember Martha Reeves (yes, that Martha Reeves) and Hall of Fame Tigers broadcaster Ernie Harwell, who wants to see the ballpark preserved if possible. Harwell is addressing the council as I type this [correction: it's actually tomorrow morning], after which presumably a decision will be made on when to vote.
If there is another delay, it would give proponents of preserving at least part of the 95-year-old facility (that's Tiger Stadium, not Harwell, who is only 89) more time to firm up their proposals and present them to the city council, which seems more open to hearing alternative plans than the mayor's office. It would give Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick more time to find a developer willing to build his condo dream on the site as well, but given the pace that's moved at, it doesn't seem likely that another few weeks will make a difference.
July 25, 2007
A's new stadium plan: We'll get back to you
Oakland A's owner Lew Wolff presented the latest details of his stadium development plan to the Fremont city council last night, and, well:
"We hear you loud and clear," Wolff said. "It's not done yet."
Fremont officials, apparently, focused less on what Wolff showed (a $1.8 billion project with an A's stadium, condos, an upscale shopping mall, blah blah blah) than on what he didn't: According to the San Jose Mercury News, city community development director Jill Keimach presented a long list of issues still to be resolved, including "location of an elementary school, plans for incorporating affordable housing, transportation and parking, and incorporation of 'green building principles.' Keimach described the state of the A's proposal as 'more what we don't know than what we do know.'"
What we also don't know, though the Merc News (and presumably Keimach) didn't mention it, is what kind of taxpayer "assistance" Wolff will ask for as part of his proposal. Wolff says he expects to file a development application this fall; maybe by then he'll be ready to reveal his public price, as well.
One other tidbit from the Merc News story: Wolff has apparently signed deed restrictions on the proposed development site that prohibit such uses as Goodwill stores, laundromats, card clubs, veterinary hospitals, funeral homes, porn shops, gas stations, massage and tattoo parlors, churches and beauty schools. Most of that seems to be code for "folks not rich enough to own their own washing machines," but "churches" is a puzzler - unless they're taking their John Wesley too literally.
July 21, 2007
Fool me twice, shame on D.C.?
The three-year-old plan to build a new stadium for the D.C. United soccer team, more or less dormant for the last six months, abruptly fell apart yesterday, with Mayor Adrian Fenty balking at the team's demand for $200 million worth of tax breaks, new roads, and free land as a condition of building their $150 million stadium. Fenty's office said the city will instead open up the Poplar Point site in Southeast Washington to competitive bidding from other developers.
D.C. United officials immediately responded by threatening to move the team, though not very far. "We're keeping our options open," a spokesperson for team owner Victor MacFarlane told the Washington Post. "We need a new stadium somewhere in the D.C. area. I can't put parameters on that."
Coming on the heels of D.C.'s total capitulation to Major League Baseball in the Nationals stadium deal, the move to play hardball with D.C. United might seem unexpected, but there are two key differences. First off, stadium-funding critic Fenty took over as mayor from Anthony Williams this January, and unlike with the already-underway Nats deal, he couldn't blame a soccer subsidy on his predecessor. And also, it's soccer, and nobody knows any songs about that sport. (Nobody in this country, anyway.)
Bennett: My way or the OK way (no, this isn't a repost)
Seattle Sonics owner Clay Bennett attempted to jump-start stalled arena talks again on Thursday, using both the carrot and the stick: Bennett told Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels that "anything and everything is on the table," including the possibility of remaining at a renovated KeyArena - then again threatened to move the team to Oklahoma City if he doesn't get his way. "Basically, I'm pounding the table, reiterating everything we've said to date," Bennett told the Oklahoman. You can say that again.
Best headline on the whole mess goes to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer: "Sonics held hostage before horrified townsfolk."
Vegas approves arena; money a mystery
The Las Vegas city council on Wednesday approved a proposal by developers REI Neon to build a $500 million arena downtown as part of a larger redevelopment project. Not included in the agreement: Details on who will pay for it. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that REI Neon is asking for a $650 million property tax rebate (unclear if this is cumulative or present value) on the entire $9.5 billion development; the Associated Press reports that REI Neon consultant George Postolos told the Review-Journal (in an article that looks to have disappeared from the web) that the project could need "bonds against future sales tax revenue" as well, which would imply a STIF (sales tax increment financing) as well as a TIF (tax increment financing).
I've discussed the many problem with TIFs before, so I won't go into that again. For now, just note that without an NBA or NHL tenant, the Vegas arena would basically be built on spec - which should bring smiles to the faces of team owners looking to shake down their current cities by making move threats.
July 20, 2007
Taxpayer cost of Yankees stadium tops $600m
When last we checked in on the New York Yankees stadium project - currently under construction across the street from Yankee Stadium, which will then be demolished - its public price tag was up to $516 million. A report today by the subsidy-watch group Good Jobs New York indicates that the taxpayer cost of the project has now obliterated that mark, with the new estimate being $663.5 million - which would make it the biggest public stadium subsidy in U.S. history.
That's pretty impressive for a project that Mayor Mike Bloomberg declared to be "the state helping the way, but George footing the bill," and of which Yankees president (and former city deputy mayor) Randy Levine declared, "We're paying for this, not the taxpayers." Among the new items inflating the public's tab: tens of millions of dollars of cost overruns on replacement parkland and infrastructure (previously reported here), plus an extra $100 million apiece in property-tax breaks and tax-exempt bond benefits over what was originally reported.
Read more in my article on the Village Voice news blog, or in the full report itself.
T-Day set for next Wednesday
The Detroit city council, after again putting off a vote on the fate of Tiger Stadium on Wednesday, now says it will debate the matter on Monday and then vote next Wednesday. Maybe.
The Detroit Free Press editorial board didn't wait, though, to issue its own recommendations, saying that even if Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's condo plan seems increasingly dubious, that shouldn't stop the city from tearing the ballpark down: "Indeed, an empty lot at The Corner would be a more enticing development prospect than the stadium." The Freep editors go on to write that Cleveland's Municipal Stadium "came down almost instantaneously when Jacobs Field opened" (it actually stayed around for three more years while the Browns played there) and "it's now the site of the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame" (actually it was demolished to make way for the Browns' new stadium; the Rock n' Roll Hall is down the road a bit, and opened while the stadium was still standing).
If FoS readers want to chime in with their own recommendations, councilmembers' e-mail addresses are all available on the council website.
July 18, 2007
High ticket prices for Brooklyn Nets
Norman Oder of Atlantic Yards Report notes that New Jersey Nets financial documents project a 73% hike in weighted average ticket price once the team's new Brooklyn arena opens in 2010. (If it opens then - there are still lawsuits pending.) This would be one of the larger ticket price hikes for a team moving into a new stadium, though certainly not a record: The Detroit Tigers more than doubled average prices when they moved into Comerica Park in 2000.
A large chunk of the price increase, as Oder points out, is likely due to high-priced luxury seating pulling up the average; still, "we can't be sure of the figure until the team publishes a price list." Also in the newly released documents - released only because two state legislators filed a lawsuit - is word that Nets owner Bruce Ratner expects to sell 4500 "personal seat licenses" for the right to buy selected seats, which at $4500 a pop would raise $20 million.
July 17, 2007
Detroit council asks for more info on Tiger Stadium plans
The Detroit city council yesterday put off a vote on Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's plan to demolish Tiger Stadium, at least until Wednesday, as councilmembers expressed skepticism over whether the city should be moving ahead on a project that still has no developer. "It would be ridiculous to demolish an existing structure without having a developer" lined up in advance, said councilmember JoAnn Watson, while council president Kenneth Cockrel demanded that the city provide a written report by tomorrow on all proposals received for redeveloping the site.
Cockrel told the Detroit News he made the request after receiving two proposals in the last four days on how to reuse the stadium. Given that there are a bunch of people with plans to reuse the stadium for minor-league sports, it'll be interesting to see what if anything the city says about why it dismissed those offers.
Aberdeen: How not to build a stadium deal
For those of you wondering about the plight of Aberdeen, Maryland and its money-losing stadium, the Baltimore Sun ran an excellent feature this weekend detailing how the fault lies not in the ballpark, but in the elected officials who negotiated a lease that gave away all the building's revenue to Cal Ripken's IronBirds. Among the highlights:
"People who come to the games don't realize what we're dealing with," said Betsy Campion, head of the city's stadium management board, from her seat behind home plate during the June 19 home opener. "They see the stadium full, they buy food at prices in line with big league ballparks, and they think the city is a part of that."
S. Fred Simmons, Aberdeen's mayor, expressed concerns while he was a member of the board that oversees the stadium. ... "We do not control either the income or the direction of marketing at the stadium. ... We have [a] dysfunctional relationship with our 'partners' at the stadium." Simmons concluded, "Municipalities, especially this one, shouldn't be in this type of business."
At a Nov. 13, 2000, council meeting, Dacey, the city manager, outlined the project in a slide presentation that, unlike the deal, was quick and simple. Members were assured that they wouldn't have to dip into the general fund. They weren't provided the contract documents, which would be finalized and signed three weeks later. ... The council - Hansen, Myra Fender, Franklin "Mac" Bradley and Macon Tucker - asked no questions, according to minutes.
For all the gruesome details, read the whole article. It's an outstanding reminder that when it comes to stadium finance, it's increasingly less about who pays the initial bills than about who reaps the revenues down the road.
July 13, 2007
Planning commission balks at razing Tiger Stadium
Tiger Stadium, which seems like it's already had nine lives, may have just won one more. Three days after the Detroit city council said it'd hold off on a decision on the fate of Tiger Stadium until the city planning commission issued its recommendations, the planning commission met yesterday - and voted 5-1 (with two abstentions) not to recommend the city's demolition plan for the 95-year-old ballpark. "If you can save the Book-Cadillac building," asked commissioner Marilyn White, referring to a downtown Detroit landmark currently being renovated after two decades of delays, "how do you know you can't reuse [Tiger Stadium]?"
Does this mean the possibility of preserving at least part of the ballpark will get a second look? The Free Press calls the commission's advisory vote a "bump" and a "setback" for the Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's demolition plans, while the Detroit News says it's a "snag" and that the city's plans are "starting to unravel" (which seem like contradictory metaphors, but never mind). The city council meets again on Monday to take up the demolition proposal; given that councilmembers put off a vote last week to give time to hear the planning commission's recommendations, they'd look pretty dumb voting to approve the plan now over its objections, but you never know.
July 12, 2007
Great America now undecided on 49ers stadium
The owners of the Great America amusement park in Santa Clara, who'd previously said they opposed a plan to build a San Francisco 49ers stadium on the parking lot they lease from the city, now say after meeting with the football team that - well, let's let theme park spokesperson Stacy Frole explain it:
"Before, we were saying we were opposed to it because we had received limited information. We're at the point now where we have received information, however, we need to analyze that information before any decision can be made."
Weighing the traffic impacts of the project, or just haggling over the price? You make the call.
July 11, 2007
Tiger Stadium verdict delayed
After a contentious public hearing on Monday, the Detroit city council decided to hold off on a decision on the demolition of Tiger Stadium until the city planning commission meets again to discuss the plan tomorrow. (Though the Detroit Free Press described the hearing as including "a handful of demolition opponents," most other sources say the public comments were 50/50 pro and con razing the 95-year-old ballpark.)
This week's Metro Times has a nice recap of the Tiger Stadium redevelopment story so far, which it describes as "one of those nightmares where you run and run and run but get absolutely nowhere." Bonus points for the headline, though points off for the painfully overextended sports metaphor that closes the piece:
The game's not over yet for Tiger Stadium, but it looks like we're in the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs and a full count. There's still time to see if the preservationists can get a game-saving hit, but they'll need to see something better than the spitballs that have been thrown at them so far.
If they were having spitballs thrown at them, wouldn't that walk in a run? Or is a walk not as good as a hit in stadium development politics?
NBA considers private Kings arena ... or does it?
A scantily sourced (one "person close to the negotiation process") story on Sacramento's CBS affiliate says that the NBA may consider financing a new arena itself for the Kings, after the failure of last year's arena tax referendum. "They have the money to do it," state assemblymember Dave Jones, a public arena funding opponent, told CBS 13. "They make tons of money, providing professional basketball and it's a business like any other business. So if they want a building, they should invest in it just like any business does."
The problem, of course, is that Jones' statement presumes that an arena will make money for its investors, and they generally don't. There's also the question as to whether this unnamed source means NBA funding or NBA financing (the news story uses both terms) - if Stern only intends to sell the bonds for the arena, then have somebody else pay them off, we're right back where we started.
Some clues may have been provided by a recent interview Stern gave to the Sacramento Bee's Ailene Voisin, in which he said of the Kings arena campaign:
We accept the notion that a referendum on raising money in California starts at a disadvantage and needs a degree of perfection. I'm not sure that anything I have been associated with in terms of marshaling a proposal, etc. has been this complicated. So what we're looking at won't need the same degree of public support. ... I have become familiar with the state, and the public has spoken very clearly on this. Now, that doesn't mean there won't be a situation where we're asking the taxpayer to [contribute] something, but I'm not sure.
Has somebody been taking evasiveness lessons from Lew Wolff?
July 05, 2007
Michigan sports subsidy: The breakdown
With the kind assistance of Detroit Free Press reporter Chris Christoff, I've tracked down the text of the Michigan tax bill (PDF here) that includes new tax breaks for local sports teams. The relevant sections, with analysis below:
Sec. 410. (1) For tax years that begin on or after January 1, 2008 and end before January 1, 2013, an eligible taxpayer may claim a credit against the tax imposed by this act equal to the following:
(a) For the 2008 through 2010 tax years, 65% of the eligible taxpayer's total tax liability imposed under this act not to exceed $1,700,000.00.
(b) For the 2011 tax year, 45% of the eligible taxpayer's total tax liability imposed under this act not to exceed $1,180,000.00.
(c) For the 2012 tax year, 25% of the eligible taxpayer's total tax liability imposed under this act not to exceed $650,000.00.
(2) As used in this section, "eligible taxpayer" means a taxpayer that satisfies each of the following:
(a) Is, collectively or individually, including through affiliated companies, an owner, operator, manager, licensee, lessee, or tenant of more than 1 facility or stadium, including grounds and ancillary facilities, that has a capacity of at least 14,000 patrons and is primarily used for professional sporting events or other entertainment.
(b) The owner, operator, manager, licensee, lessee, or tenant as described in subdivision (a) has made a capital investment of not less than $250,000,000.00, collectively or individually, including through affiliated companies, into the construction cost of a facility or stadium for which the taxpayer qualifies for this credit.
(c) The owner, operator, manager, licensee, lessee, or tenant as described in subdivision (a) has not received proceeds from a state appropriation, a public bond issue from a local unit of government or public authority, or a state or local tax or fee to assist in the construction or debt retirement of the facility other than a state or local tax or fee from a public entity for road or infrastructure assistance.
What this all means is that the Detroit Tigers, Red Wings, and Pistons apparently don't need to spend additional money on renovating their current buildings to be eligible for the tax credit - all they need to do sit back and continue to exist. The value of the tax cut is capped at $6.93 million per entity, meaning if all three teams were to max out their credits, the state would be out a little over $20 million that it otherwise would have collected.
As for how the Tigers get to qualify even after receiving at least $115 million in public money, that's still unclear, but I'm sure one of those clever qualifiying clauses has something to do with it - maybe in Michigan, Ferris wheels count as "infrastructure"?
Christmas in July: Michigan gives tax breaks to sports teams
Surprise, Michiganders! The new tax code approved by your state legislature includes millions of dollars in tax breaks for the Michigan International Speedway and the Detroit Tigers, Red Wings, and Pistons, as well as non-sports entities like the Detroit Zoo and art and historical museums.
How many millions of dollars I can't say right now - the Detroit Free Press story that reported this didn't actually indicate how much the tax credits would be worth. The Speedway was apparently the first recipient, getting $7 million in tax breaks if it spends $35 million in renovations through 2012; after that, according to the Freep, everyone else bum-rushed the candy jar:
As word leaked out that MIS tax credits were being negotiated, other stadium owners came knocking on legislative doors, seeking their own special deals. So lawmakers gave virtually the same tax credit to Palace Sports and Entertainment and Ilitch Holdings Inc., which own the Palace of Auburn Hills and Comerica Park, respectively.
"If MIS got credit for new construction, to level the playing field it was felt that that credit should be extended to all entertainment venues," said Matt Marsden, spokesman for Sen. Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, whose district includes the Palace.
Elsewhere, the Freep notes that "carving out such narrow breaks for specific businesses illustrates the clout they have and the urgency of state lawmakers to ease taxes for Michigan-based corporations" - the latter, no doubt, having a lot to do with the former.
The only Detroit-area franchise to be left out was the Lions, whose Ford Field was declared ineligible "because it was built with the help of public dollars" - which ignores all the public dollars that went toward the construction of the Tigers' Comerica Park, for one, but maybe the state legislature has a different definition of "public."
As for what this would mean for the Red Wings murmurings about a new arena to replace Joe Louis Arena - which the Freep calls "a dinosaur among NHL arenas" (it's only 28 years old, so presumably they mean it's really popular with kids) - it's hard to say: The article implies that the tax break can be used for either facility renovations or new buildings, which would seem to create an incentive to go for the most costly project if it can generate bigger revenues. Much will depend on the exact language of the new tax code, though - I'll try to do some digging and report back here.
In related news, meanwhile, Tigers and Red Wings owner Mike Ilitch and Pistons owner Bill Davidson are pushing a public campaign to block a proposed ticket tax on sporting events, even setting up an Astroturf group called Fans Against the Ticket Tax to promote their cause. (Economists, for what it's worth, generally say that ticket taxes mostly come out of the pockets of team owners, not fans, since they make it unprofitable for teams to raise prices as high as they would in the absence of a tax.) While acknowledging that the state has a $1.8 billion budget deficit, Pistons lobbyist Roger Martin insisted, "At a time when they're considering higher taxes on our pay, we don't believe they should also tax our play." Just who he meant by "our" is left as an exercise for the reader.
July 01, 2007
Pens arena caught in budget squabble
The Pennsylvania state legislature missed its constitutional deadline for approving a state budget last night, and one of the sticking points is funding for a Pittsburgh Penguins arena. Gov. Ed Rendell has threatened to veto any budget that doesn't include $7.5 million year in funding for a Pens arena, among other items - and with the Senate president pro tempore Joe Scarnati saying he "doesn't see any rush" in passing arena funding, everything is at a standstill.
Penguins officials, as you might imagine, are getting publicly antsy, with team president David Morehouse warning, "If this legislative session ends without arena funding in place, the entire funding structure for the arena and the arena project would be in jeopardy." Democratic Senator Sean Logan went further, calling the impasse "disturbing" and saying if the arena bill needs to wait till September when the legislature is scheduled to come back into session, construction costs could go up and the "Pens will leave."
Apocalyptic language aside, it doesn't seem likely that things will be held up that long: The state budget needs to be passed soon one way or another, and even one leading Republican senator said she'd be fine with voting for the Pens arena bill once the budget is settled. Still, it makes for some nice drama in that cliched horror movie ending kind of way.
