The Hornets and the city of Charlotte "moved closer to
striking a deal" for a new downtown arena yesterday when
city leaders "unveiled a plan that calls for the city to
contribute up to" $94M toward the $224M project, according
to Lauren Markoe of the CHARLOTTE OBSERVER. The plan "also
asks" the team to pay between $62.5-90M. Hornets co-Owner
Ray Wooldridge told the City Council last month that he
thought a Hornets contribution of $62.5M, or 25% of the cost
of the arena, was a "fair" share. But Markoe writes that
yesterday's presentation "prompted a radical change in
attitude on the part of Wooldridge and City Council
members," compared to earlier this year when "prospects for
an arena deal seemed dim." Economic Development Committee
Chair Lynn Wheeler: "I see the glimmer of a new arena on the
horizon." Wooldridge, who was not present at the Council's
last meeting, said yesterday was the "best meeting we ever
had," calling the plan "something we can work with." The
breakdown of the city's arena contribution includes "up to"
$50M toward the cost of construction, which is estimated at
$180M. The money would come from a city-wide hotel/motel
tax. The city would also pay $20M for infrastructure, such
as sewers and roads around the arena, and $24M for land
acquisition downtown. Council members "also recommended
that the city negotiate no less than a 25-year lease with
the team, and that the city pay no more than the Hornets do
for the building itself." But even if the city and the team
pay the maximum amount outlined in the plan, the total would
still fall $40M short of the project's $224M price tag,
which the Hornets would be responsible for. But Wooldridge
said that the state "might come through," as it set aside
around $22M for the Hurricanes' new arena in Raleigh.
Although Wooldridge has said that he wants to break ground
on an arena by August 1, he conceded yesterday that date "is
not realistic" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 6/15). Wheeler:
"Suddenly on the horizon, I perhaps see a new arena. I now
see at the end of the tunnel, perhaps we will have a new
arena" (WCNC-TV, 6/14). In Charlotte, Don Hudson notes the
$40M gap on the funding: "Wooldridge think[s] the state
would kick in $30 million, as it did for Raleigh's new
coliseum. That should happen" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 6/15).
