PA House Majority Leader John Perzel said yesterday
that there "just isn't sufficient support in his chamber" to
win approval for Gov. Tom Ridge's stadium-financing
proposal, according to Shelly & Barnes of the PITTSBURGH
POST-GAZETTE. Perzel: "I can't do it for what the governor
wants. I've had members come in, literally in tears, saying
that they don't want to vote for this." Ridge's proposal
calls for PA to raise its debt ceiling to $650M, with $320M
going toward the cost of four new stadiums. Perzel did say
that House lawmakers "might be willing to support loaning
the money" to the teams, though details of his plan
"remained sketchy." Steelers VP Art Rooney: "I am not
familiar with any other NFL deals where the state provided
its share of the money as a loan, rather than an outright
grant" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 1/28). Perzel's $320M
interest-free loan proposal would "require each team to
repay nearly" $2.7M per year over 30 years, which "could be
paid for by adding $1 to the price" of a ticket. Gov. Ridge
spokesperson Tim Reeves "acknowledged" that the governor
"could consider such a plan," but "warned that the ultimate
test ... was whether the teams could live with it." Eagles
Exec VP Joe Banner said that Perzel's plan would be
"unacceptable" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 1/28).
NO TIME TO WASTE: In Pittsburgh, Bob Smizik writes that
the future of the Pirates depends on Plan B being passed:
"There's not enough time for anything other than Plan B.
What the politicians have to understand is a vote against
Plan B is a vote against baseball" (POST-GAZETTE, 1/28).
