Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell mentioned Thursday the
possibility of a regional surcharge on the sales tax "as a
way of funding two new stadiums for the city," according to
Christopher Hepp of the PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER. Rendell
confirmed that his "first choice" is to build separate
stadiums for the Phillies and the Eagles and said that a
surcharge of "as little" as half a cent on the dollar "would
be enough to finance the local portion of what could be a
$600 million project." Rendell's proposal would replace a
sports lottery, which was his first choice for financing,
but "expected to face stiff opposition" in the state house.
But Rendell said, "None of this is easy. A surcharge would
be another plan that would be difficult to get through
[state legislature]" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 11/13).
FROM THE STATE HOUSE: PA Gov. Tom Ridge said Thursday
"that he'll personally lobby lawmakers" through next week
"to win approval for as much as" $325M as the state's share
of the cost of new stadiums in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
Ridge said that if the proposal for state funding for the
stadiums fails, "we'll go back at it this spring." However,
he added that he "remained optimistic that the lobbying
would be successful (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 11/13).
