The Dallas City Council voted 12-2 to send the $230M
downtown arena plan "to the voters" on January 17, according
to Todd Gillman of the DALLAS MORNING NEWS. The deal calls
for the city to put up $125M towards the facility, while the
Mavericks and Stars will pay $105M "and cover cost
overruns." Also, in a "change from the deal signed two
months ago," both teams "agreed to share any savings with
the city" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 12/11).
MEDIA BLITZ: Arena boosters, touting the arena in
newspaper ads, a new one-minute radio spot, and a full-color
brochure mailed to 65,000 Dallas homes, are saying the arena
deal "will reduce homeowners' tax burden" and strengthen the
local economy. The pro-arena radio spot features Roger
Staubach, while the brochure lists "dozens of prominent
supporters," including Staubach, Rolando Blackman, Nancy
Lieberman-Cline and Michael Johnson. Critics, however,
contend that promised development around the arena "is not
guaranteed," and note that the deal calls for the first
$7.3M in new tax revenue generated to be used to "repay the
teams for street improvements" (MORNING NEWS, 12/11).
