The budget for the Jazz' $125M Vivint Smart Home Arena renovation "has been finalized," but team officials "aren't ready to disclose exact details of the project," according to Jody Genessy of the DESERET NEWS. The "vast majority" of the project is being funded by Larry H. Miller Sports & Entertainment, which owns the team. The remaining $22.7M will come from "public funding if the organization's proposal to Salt Lake City's Redevelopment Agency" tomorrow is "approved in that group's monthly meeting." Gennesy notes the public funding "would be delivered via intermittent payments over the course of the next 25 years, perhaps sooner, through the city's Tax Increment Reimbursement mechanism." The Jazz currently pay around $1M "per year in property taxes for the Miller-owned Vivint Arena, which sits on city-owned land." If the value of the building increases, the city "will incrementally reimburse the franchise" 40% of the tax increase. This is a "different approach" than what the Jazz took when they built the Delta Center in '91. That project had a public bond "approved and taxpayers footed" $24M of the original $90M in construction costs. That public bond resulted in a "lofty return on investment over the ensuing 25 years" to the Wasatch Front ($2.05B), Salt Lake County ($1.99B) and Salt Lake City ($720.8M). The current project -- "made and reviewed by the same entities -- suggests much bigger returns on investment" for the Wasatch Front ($4.5B), Salt Lake County ($4.46B) and Salt Lake City ($3.31B) through '41. Jazz CEO Greg Miller: "We felt it was the responsible way to fund the project. We're the stewards. We accept the responsibility, the burden of protecting the asset, and with that comes significant financial responsibility, and we're going to step up to it" (DESERET NEWS, 6/11).
