Worcester Business Journal Sounds Alot Like This Blog Today

 

From today's @WBJournal: The WooSox are responsible for $60M of Polar Park’s cost, but the team’s contribution toward the fiscal 2021 debt was $8,043. The team's lease is structured so the bulk of its obligations are reserved toward the end.https://t.co/oF1jI56MPI

— Brad Kane (@KaneWBJ) December 6, 2021

 

 First of all must read. 

Sorry we have been busy.  Will focus on the blog the rest of the month.     This column marks a huge change in the message from the City Administration???     Pretty agrees with everything we have been saying on this blog. 

  

1) "The 30-year plan to pay off the city’s long-term borrowing is reflective of the rushed nature of the entire ballpark project, where officials are solving problems on the fly and figuring out how to meet their significant team-friendly obligations with minimal time to prepare.""

Have we not been saying this for years???

 

2)     "To date, the city doesn’t have a separate and transparent way to easily track the ballpark’s revenues and expenses to ensure the project does indeed pay for itself, with officials planning on setting up such accounts midway through the team’s second season."

A 160 million dollar project and we do have an easy way to track revenues and expenses?  Current CFO who has been here since of 2020 can not set accounts to track revenues and expenses?? 

 

3)   "The city’s ability to generate revenue inside the ballpark tax district has less to do with the team’s ability to attract fans, and is more greatly tied to new commercial and residential developments within the tax district. While a portion of the city's revenue plans include parking fees, taxes on concessions, and the WooSox annual lease payments, the bulk of the money used to pay down the city’s bonds will come from property taxes."

We again have been saying this for years and bemoaning the fact that nothing has come online from Phase I.

 

4)   Just read the column.   Every paragraph is full of information..  

Here is our summary:

• expenses went through the roof
• none of the development that we have expected to pay the bills have happened
• this is just a "rough patch" 
• thank god we borrowed money to pay the shortages in the first few years (Capitalized interest)
• when is Madison properties coming online???  No mention of that..  
  
• do not worry there are huge investments coming in the DIF, which will make the project profitable

 

Maybe we could get an updated proforma???