Tapping city bed tax money for new facilities could leave taxpayers on the hook

[thelakelander]

Mayor Lenny Curry says his $45 million proposal to help the owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars build an amphitheater and indoor practice facility can be paid for by tourists and without affecting basic city services.

However, budget figures, financial projections and historical tax data show that Curry plans to squeeze dry the remaining money from a tourism tax trust fund designated for maintenance of Jacksonville's major sports facilities. At the same time, the private operator in charge of running the city-owned buildings estimates more than $72 million worth of maintenance will be needed in the next five years.

That means local taxpayers could be on the hook for substantial future maintenance expenses that city officials would ultimately have to weigh against basic services such as public safety, the centerpiece priority of the mayor's first term.

Full article: http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2015-11-29/story/curry-plan-paynot-without-risk?utm_source=eyepiece&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=cxense&cx_navSource=eyepiece#cxrecs_s

[tufsu1]

Oops....guess everyone didn't get the talking points memo

[Tacachale]

It probably wouldn't be "dry" if we hadn't spent $40 million on big scoreboards. That project cost nearly as much as this one, with much less to show for it. It was also a dumb move to remove the maintenance budgets that were built into the Amphitheater and Baseball Grounds. Oh well.

At any rate, it's pretty clear that the bed tax isn't the only source of revenue for sports district projects, though the bed tax may only be spent on the sports complex. And the plan would put maintenance and operations of the new buildings on the Jaguars. That alone would reduce the recurring expenses for the city exponentially.

[Charles Hunter]

Does the plan put maintenance of the practice field and amphitheater on Khan, or just the revenues?

[Kay]

I thought the article said Jaguars would not be responsible for maintenance???

It probably wouldn't be "dry" if we hadn't spent $40 million on big scoreboards. That project cost nearly as much as this one, with much less to show for it. It was also a dumb move to remove the maintenance budgets that were built into the Amphitheater and Baseball Grounds. Oh well.

At any rate, it's pretty clear that the bed tax isn't the only source of revenue for sports district projects, though the bed tax may only be spent on the sports complex. And the plan would put maintenance and operations of the new buildings on the Jaguars. That alone would reduce the recurring expenses for the city exponentially.

[Tacachale]

Does the plan put maintenance of the practice field and amphitheater on Khan, or just the revenues?

The last article said the Jaguars would handle operations and maintenance for the two new facilities.

[tufsu1]

It probably wouldn't be "dry" if we hadn't spent $40 million on big scoreboards. That project cost nearly as much as this one, with much less to show for it.

maybe so, but pretty much every stadium is getting upgraded video boards.  Not saying we needed 300+ foot long boards (we definitely didn't), but the ones we had were way outdated.

[Tacachale]

It probably wouldn't be "dry" if we hadn't spent $40 million on big scoreboards. That project cost nearly as much as this one, with much less to show for it.

maybe so, but pretty much every stadium is getting upgraded video boards.  Not saying we needed 300+ foot long boards (we definitely didn't), but the ones we had were way outdated.

It's not the boards, the boards are fine, and actually pretty cool. It's the fact that the city's contribution for them was over $40 million, whereas we're now looking at getting two new facilities plus stadium improvements for the same price. Either the Jags should have covered a lot more of the cost, or they should have weighed the boards against other opportunities. But it's in the past now.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

Most of the money those buildings could generate, however, wouldn't go into city coffers. Under the proposed agreement, Jaguars owner Shad Khan's company, American Thunder, would cover all the operating costs for the two venues and keep all ticket, concession and other revenues earned from events.

Would this mean that Khan's group would also be handling the booking of events?

SMG, IMO, has done somewhere between a non-existent and completely lackluster in their performance regarding the of booking of outside events and it could possibly be a really good thing for all parties if there was an agency that was getting more from the events to help cover their costs. 

If memory serves and I understood correctly, SMG had a contract that paid them regardless.  Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

[Charles Hunter]

Sounds like the City is still on the hook if revenues don't cover expenses in the first 2 years,  and for all of it after 2 years.

[tufsu1]

It probably wouldn't be "dry" if we hadn't spent $40 million on big scoreboards. That project cost nearly as much as this one, with much less to show for it.

maybe so, but pretty much every stadium is getting upgraded video boards.  Not saying we needed 300+ foot long boards (we definitely didn't), but the ones we had were way outdated.

It's not the boards, the boards are fine, and actually pretty cool. It's the fact that the city's contribution for them was over $40 million, whereas we're now looking at getting two new facilities plus stadium improvements for the same price. Either the Jags should have covered a lot more of the cost, or they should have weighed the boards against other opportunities. But it's in the past now.

keep in mind the total project cost in 2013 was $63 million.  The Jaguars paid $21 million towards locker room improvements and the north end zone modifications (the pools).  The city paid $42 million for the scoreboards.

The difference this time is that the Jaguars will control any events held at the amphitheater and practice facility.  As such, they should be paying more this time.

[Tacachale]

It probably wouldn't be "dry" if we hadn't spent $40 million on big scoreboards. That project cost nearly as much as this one, with much less to show for it.

maybe so, but pretty much every stadium is getting upgraded video boards.  Not saying we needed 300+ foot long boards (we definitely didn't), but the ones we had were way outdated.

It's not the boards, the boards are fine, and actually pretty cool. It's the fact that the city's contribution for them was over $40 million, whereas we're now looking at getting two new facilities plus stadium improvements for the same price. Either the Jags should have covered a lot more of the cost, or they should have weighed the boards against other opportunities. But it's in the past now.

keep in mind the total project cost in 2013 was $63 million.  The Jaguars paid $21 million towards locker room improvements and the north end zone modifications (the pools).  The city paid $42 million for the scoreboards.

The difference this time is that the Jaguars will control any events held at the amphitheater and practice facility.  As such, they should be paying more this time.

The Jags paid a smaller portion of the cost, and the project has a lot less opportunity for return than two new buildings. From the city's end, the cost nearly identical. The Jags running the events isn't much different than SMG doing it.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

The Jags running the events isn't much different than SMG doing it.

See my post above, because I think this is a huge difference.

[Overstreet]

"Past taxpayer-funded upgrades to EverBank Field have proved to have hidden costs."

I think this feature will be included.

[mtraininjax]

maybe so, but pretty much every stadium is getting upgraded video boards.  Not saying we needed 300+ foot long boards (we definitely didn't), but the ones we had were way outdated.

We never needed the Giant Pong Boards, what we really needed were the pools and reduced seating.