2008 Ballpark Project Fast Facts
The project is premised on the concept that the development will be self-supporting. No existing city tax revenue will be used to fund the ballpark project..........
For example, the City’s Pro Forma calculates the following new revenue for year 2022, the first year of full debt service payments:
In 2022, the City will owe $2,971,416 towards the bond payment and operating costs for the ballpark. Therefore, in 2022, the City is estimating a surplus of $741,442 which includes a 5% contingency.
(The sources and uses will fluctuate from year to year.)
Sources Amount
Ballpark Taxes $ 147,167.00
Parking Revenue $ 845,650.00
LF Boutique Hotel & Retail Taxes $ 313,060.00
WG South Hotel, Apartments & Retail Taxes $ 1,628,067.00
Personal Property Tax $11,526.00
Use and Occupancy Tax $ 571,388.00
Advertising $156,000.00
8 City Revenue Events $ 40,000.00
Source Total $ 3,712,858.00
Uses Amount
Debt Service $ 2,733,000.00
Operating Costs $ 96,920.00
5% contingency $ 141,496.00
Use Total $ 2,971,416.00
Surplus $ 741,442.0
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Editor's notes:
Flash forward to today, 5 years later, (2022)...
- Total Revenues in actuality is probably in the $750,000 range ($3,000,000 less)
- Considering the debt service was based on $100,000,000 stadium that has grown to $160,000,000, the debt service must have gone up. Let's just say expenses have increased to $3,500,000 ($500,000 more).
- We are losing millions right now. ($2,750,000)
- These are just guesses, but we do not think we are far off
- Let's hope the ballpark commission takes this up (Revenues and Expenses of the ballpark to the taxpayers) as a duty and responsibility.
Comments
It’s hard to get public noise around complex finances, even if they aren’t also being kept secret. I’ll say it again (as others have noted): if the financial picture was as rosy as it was sold in, we would all have heard about it, every day, by now. I hope that I’m not correct.
In other news, the A320 replacing the E190 for the Fort Lauderdale flight performance wise has been really good. I think since they’ve made the switch they’ve only had to cancel once but everything else has been on time. Even Monday when we had all the storms and rain, most flights out of the airport were cancelled but the FLL flight arrived and departed on time. Even if they go to a later time in September/October, I don’t think having a later flight would be a bad thing if you have a reliable aircraft doing the work.
Anyone with a set of eyes, and who reads this blog, and gives this any thought should come to the conclusion that we are paying for this ball park.
In addition to the project cost spiraling out of control, $86-$90 million to $160-$??? million, the proposed development is WAY behind schedule. The only thing I see is the first residential building that was suppose to be opened with the ball park two years ago not even framed in. The other buildings proposed have not even started.
Additionally, the parking revenues which were suppose to be in the millions are way behind what was projected. I was looking for an old post you had on parking but I could not find it but I recall they weren't "in the ballpark" to the projections.
Finally I read the quick facts, which you should keep because I forgot everything that was promised, including the highlighted section that it would not cost us taxpayers, and I assume that you can't walk around the concourse on non game days. Just another broken promise.
On a brighter note, I am glad our governor was smarter than our former City Manager. It appears that the states contribution to the infrastructure will have a return and not cost us there.
Hear is a thought, someone tell the recruiting firm we are hiring to find a new City Manager to send the solicitation to Governor Baker. The position pays more than he makes and hopefully he can fix this mess that Augustus left us with.
We built the ball park,the garage, Picket park (Oops I mean Rockland Trust plaza) with public funds and the state fixed Kelley Sq with the peanut. Where is the rest of what was promised and when will we see it.