State funding for sports stadiums in PA "suffered a
severe setback early today as Gov. [Tom] Ridge failed to
muster enough House votes to pass his plan and the House
members left town for a long holiday weekend," according to
John Baer of the PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS. After a day and
night of "intense lobbying," PA House Speaker Matthew Ryan
announced the close of business just after 1:00am ET with
the stadium issue unaddressed. The House failure came after
the Senate passed a measure yesterday afternoon by a margin
of 29-19 to come up with $350M for one-third the cost of
four new stadiums for the Eagles, Phillies, Steelers and
Pirates by raising the state debt limit to $1B. Gov. Ridge
reportedly had the support of 45 Republicans in the House
"who were prepared to vote for the funding" and was seeking
57 Democratic votes, but insiders said he "fell fewer than
10 votes shy of victory." Republican leaders had said they
"would not call for a vote" unless they received 102 votes
from the 203-member House. The measure stalled when a
"handful" of Democrats and members of the Black Caucus
"resisted last-minute pressure and refused to negotiate"
with Ridge, saying, "You just don't give all that money away
to millionaires. I think that's bad public policy." Ryan
did "leave open" the possibility of the House returning for
an unscheduled session on Monday, but he and others
"acknowledged such a return is only `possible' at best." If
the House fails to reconvene on Monday, the issue "dies for
the year," meaning that it would have to go back through
Senate (John Baer, PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 11/25).
IN THE PITTS: Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy said the
delay "jeopardizes" the timetable for the Pirates and
Steelers: "We are really facing the potential of losing next
year's construction season. If we can't get this resolved,
the Pirates will have no choice but to leave town." Without
a commitment from the state, the Public Auditorium Authority
can't continue with the sale of bonds to begin clearing the
site for the Pirates new ballpark. The team must begin
construction by April to meet its deadline for the beginning
of the 2001 season. A failed vote "could throw the Plan B
formula in doubt and would likely force officials to devise
yet another strategy." All of the "doubt" surrounding the
stadium funding issue could "provoke the team to throw in
the towel and leave the city because it couldn't stay
competitive" (Shelly & Reeves, PITT. POST-GAZETTE, 11/25).
