Hornets co-Owner Ray Wooldridge "is scheduled to
present his long-awaited" proposal for a new arena to the
Charlotte City Council Monday, according to Chandler &
Markoe in a front-page story in the CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, who
write that the latest plan "still calls for the public to
pay most" of the $220M arena tab. Sources familiar with the
proposal said that Wooldridge will ask the state and local
governments "to pay for about" 75% of the downtown arena,
while the team would pay about 25%. Chandler & Markoe write
that a 25% contribution from the Hornets, or $55M, "is
lower" than the average contribution that teams paid to
build the NBA's last five new arenas. On average, those
teams paid for 53% of their arena costs. The team's
contribution "would also be significantly less than the"
$115-135M the city's New Arena Committee suggested it pay.
But several city officials involved in the arena discussions
"privately characterized Wooldridge's recent draft as a more
palatable starting point for negotiations." Meanwhile,
Wooldridge said yesterday that he's "still negotiating to
gain control" of a ten-acre tract in downtown Charlotte
currently owned by First Union. Wooldridge noted that he
"hopes to buy or lease the land" and that he is also "trying
to persuade the city to swap its Charlotte Coliseum
property" for the downtown tract. First Union, which is a
Hornets sponsor, "confirmed its negotiations with Wooldridge
but declined to give details" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 5/19).
