Hornets co-Owner Ray Wooldridge said that the team can
still start building a new arena this summer "if he gets a
bank loan or other interim financing," according to Markoe &
Bonnell of the CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, who write that Wooldridge
would pay off the interim loan with "bridge financing" when
the state and county "come through" with their proposed
share of the $250M project. If Wooldridge does not receive
the state and county financing, "he says he'd have to turn
to a back-up plan" and he "doesn't yet know what that would
be, only that it would not put the city at additional
financial risk." Markoe & Bonnell report that Charlotte
Mayor Pat McCrory and other city officials are against such
a financing plan. Legg Mason Sports Industry Group Managing
Dir John Moag called the plan risky: "Financing plans have
got to have all the pieces. I don't think it's well advised
(to start construction on a partial commitment)." Arena
financing specialist Steve Stern: "If I were an investment
banker for the city or for Mr. Wooldridge, I wouldn't
recommend doing it. The risk seems excessive on all sides
of the transaction" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 5/26).
SPLIT DECISION: Also in Charlotte, Tommy Tomlinson
writes on Wooldridge's arena plan and notes, "Here's the
deal on [Wooldridge]: Either he's the savviest businessman
since Bill Gates, or he was dropped on his head as a boy."
Tomlinson's conclusion: "Dropped on his head" (CHARLOTTE
OBSERVER, 5/26). CBS SportsLine's Mike Kahn wrote that city
officials want the Hornets to open their books to prove
losses: "What we are talking about these days is good faith
and the way the Hornets have been handled the past couple of
years and waning public interest with playoff games barely
filling up half the [Charlotte] Coliseum, this franchise is
clearly in trouble. Maybe Wooldridge is sincere about
getting a deal done. Maybe he is not. The city has sure
grown tired of their act" (CBS SportsLine, 5/25).
