A preliminary plan to pay for a proposed $180-220M
downtown Louisville arena for the Rockets was drafted by
city leaders last week "amid assurances" by the team that
"there is no deadline for submitting a building proposal,"
according to Shafer & Zambroski of the Louisville COURIER-
JOURNAL. The financing plan "suggests" that the city,
Jefferson County and the state "each issue up to" $30M in
bonds to cover a portion of the cost of the arena. Attorney
Bruce Miller, who is leading the city's efforts to attract
an NBA team, initially told city, county and state leaders
in an e-mail last week that the team had a set a deadline of
tomorrow for the community to submit a non-binding "stated
intent" to build an arena. But Rockets COO George Postolos
issued a statement Friday saying that the Rockets had not
"issued any ultimatums" regarding a new arena in Louisville,
adding, "There's no truth to the report that we're expecting
proposals from in St. Louis, New Orleans or Baltimore."
Jefferson County Judge-Executive Rebecca Jackson spoke with
Rockets execs Friday and said "they told me that they were
very sorry that I had been informed there was a Tuesday
deadline. ... They did not want me or anyone in this
community to have the mistaken impression they were trying
to bring pressure to bear" (Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL,
6/10). Besides public funds, the proposed arena would also
be financed by revenues from a naming rights deal and luxury
suites. Louisville Mayor Dave Armstrong said that he "hopes
to send a memo of understanding" to the Rockets this week
that would outline "how we can construct an arena with their
help" (Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL, 6/11).
