January 22, 2009

Both Industry residents vote for NFL stadium funding

Voters in the City of Industry, California, approved the sale of $500 million in bonds on Tuesday for infrastructure to support a new NFL stadium, as well as "retail and office space" and all the other stuff you throw in when you want to convince people your project is "not just a stadium." The preliminary vote count: 60 in favor, 1 opposed.

Yeah, you read that right: Industry is so named because it's almost entirely industrial property, with only 777 residents, most of whom, apparently, can't be bothered to register to vote. Ed Roski, the billionaire behind the football stadium project, has his Majestic Realty headquartered there, a stone's throw from the mall where they filmed the mall scenes for "Back to the Future."

The bonds will, according to press reports, be paid back by property taxes, and I admit I'm not entirely clear how this will work. Last April, the state legislature killed a proposal to divert county property taxes to the city last April for the project; it looks like the city will instead pass its own property-tax surcharge, but in a city with so few residents, it's trickier to determine exactly who will end up paying for this. If anyone out there has a firm grasp on California tax law, please write in.

In any case, the main thing standing in the way of the stadium project now is that Roski doesn't have a team to play in it. And the lawsuit neighboring towns have threatened over traffic concerns. And a few other things.