The head of the Greater Pittsburgh Hotel Association is
"crying foul" over a plan to finance $10.5M in improvements to
the Civic Arena. Joseph Kane, who operates the Downtown
Pittsburgh DoubleTree Hotel, says bed tax revenues should be used
toward increasing tourism -- by enlarging the city's Convention
Center. Kane: "Spending these tax revenues to fix the arena
won't increase tourism or visitors to the city" (PITTSBURGH POST-
GAZETTE, 5/14). Pittsburgh and Allegheny County officials have
agreed to finance Arena improvements requested by Penguins Owner
Harold Baldwin. The proposal, which has not been officially
presented to the team, would relieve Baldwin of $1.2M a year in
loan repayments currently made to the Public Auditorium Authority
for '94 renovations. It does not include another $10M over five
years sought by Baldwin to offset his rent. In exchange for
improvements, officials want Baldwin to agree to keep the team in
Pittsburgh beyond 2007, when its current lease expires (Bull &
Belko, PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 5/11).
FINANCING: $12M in bonds would be floated through the
Authority. City and county officials then intend to tap $1M from
hotel/motel tax revenues -- which already generate over $8M
annually -- and another $1.4M in Regional Asset District tax
funds to make $2.4M in annual bond repayments (Bull & Belko,
PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 5/11).
