Suuuuper news? Seattle backs deal to build NBA arena
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SEATTLE (AP) - Efforts to bring the NBA back to Seattle took a giant step forward in a revised arena deal announced Tuesday, with investor Chris Hansen agreeing to kick in more money for transportation improvements near a proposed new arena, personally guaranteeing the city's debt - and offering to buy everyone a beer.
The plan for the $490 million arena, which could also host an NHL team, represents the best shot at bringing the NBA back to Seattle. The SuperSonics ended their 41-year run here in 2008 and skipped town for Oklahoma City, where they became the Thunder.
Though formal votes are still required, Tuesday's announcement effectively gave Hansen, a San Francisco hedge-fund manager, and his fellow investors, including Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Peter and Erik Nordstrom, of the department store clan, the green light to begin shopping for an NBA team.
The deal calls for $200 million in public financing to be paid back by arena-related taxes and rent. Under new terms announced by the City Council, Hansen would double to $30 million the reserves required to be kept on hand in case the arena's finances don't perform as expected.
Should the reserve run dry, Hansen would cover the balance himself. He agreed to be independently audited to assure that he's worth at least $300 million.
And at the end of the 30-year use agreement for the new arena, the city could force Hansen to buy it back for $200 million or make him pay to have it torn down should the team move on.
The three City Council members who announced the deal said the new terms mark a significant improvement for taxpayers over the original deal reached between Hansen and Mayor Mike McGinn in May. A council committee is expected to vote on the agreement Thursday, and the full council could vote as early as Monday. The King County Council already approved the earlier deal but would have to approve the changes as well.
"This agreement could fundamentally change the model of how public-private partnerships involving sports franchises are structured," said Councilman Tim Burgess.
Hansen, a Seattle native, early Facebook investor and big Sonics fan, said the talks were difficult, but that he was happy to be able to find common ground with the council. He thanked the fans who supported him through the process, and - though not actually part of the deal - he offered to buy a celebratory beer for anyone who shows up on Thursday evening at FX McRory's, a bar near the planned site of the arena.
The initial plan for the deal drew objections from the Port of Seattle, which expressed fears that putting a third sports facility in the neighborhood south of downtown - next to the Seahawks and Mariners stadiums - would choke crucial transportation corridors that support 30,000 jobs in the region and generate $3 billion in annual revenue.
The new agreement calls for $40 million to be put into an account to improve the mobility of freight in the area, an amount state Rep. Judy Clibborn described as a down payment that could be used to recruit further investments from the port and other organizations.
The port issued a statement Tuesday saying it would review the deal. The statement said the Port of Seattle Commission appreciates the council's efforts to revise the original proposal to respond to concerns.
The news is getting mixed reviews from some SoDo businesses.
Esquin Wine and Spirits has been a fixture in the neighborhood for nearly 40 years, and its owners say traffic congestion in the neighborhood has gotten worse over the years.
"We have two stadiums in the neighborhood so we know what stadium traffic does to us," said Alisha Gosline of Esquin.
Gosline adding another stadium could severely hurt the store, but other business owners say the prospect of added traffic is great news.
The Pyramid Ale House sits right next door to Safeco field and is always packed throughout the season. The idea of extending that season with two new teams gives the owners something to cheer about.
'We're one of the main restaurants down here, so definitely our profits I think will be record set, record set," said Cedric Armstrong of the Ale House.
The deal also includes $7 million in new money for KeyArena, where the Sonics used to play. The city would have sole discretion over spending that money.
Kris Brannon, a fan better known as "Sonics Guy," attended the news conference decked out entirely in Sonics yellow and green.
"I'm just overjoyed," he said. "Chris Hansen is just like us. He's a fan, and he wants to bring basketball back to Seattle."
The plan for the $490 million arena, which could also host an NHL team, represents the best shot at bringing the NBA back to Seattle. The SuperSonics ended their 41-year run here in 2008 and skipped town for Oklahoma City, where they became the Thunder.
Though formal votes are still required, Tuesday's announcement effectively gave Hansen, a San Francisco hedge-fund manager, and his fellow investors, including Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Peter and Erik Nordstrom, of the department store clan, the green light to begin shopping for an NBA team.
The deal calls for $200 million in public financing to be paid back by arena-related taxes and rent. Under new terms announced by the City Council, Hansen would double to $30 million the reserves required to be kept on hand in case the arena's finances don't perform as expected.
Should the reserve run dry, Hansen would cover the balance himself. He agreed to be independently audited to assure that he's worth at least $300 million.
And at the end of the 30-year use agreement for the new arena, the city could force Hansen to buy it back for $200 million or make him pay to have it torn down should the team move on.
The three City Council members who announced the deal said the new terms mark a significant improvement for taxpayers over the original deal reached between Hansen and Mayor Mike McGinn in May. A council committee is expected to vote on the agreement Thursday, and the full council could vote as early as Monday. The King County Council already approved the earlier deal but would have to approve the changes as well.
"This agreement could fundamentally change the model of how public-private partnerships involving sports franchises are structured," said Councilman Tim Burgess.
Hansen, a Seattle native, early Facebook investor and big Sonics fan, said the talks were difficult, but that he was happy to be able to find common ground with the council. He thanked the fans who supported him through the process, and - though not actually part of the deal - he offered to buy a celebratory beer for anyone who shows up on Thursday evening at FX McRory's, a bar near the planned site of the arena.
The initial plan for the deal drew objections from the Port of Seattle, which expressed fears that putting a third sports facility in the neighborhood south of downtown - next to the Seahawks and Mariners stadiums - would choke crucial transportation corridors that support 30,000 jobs in the region and generate $3 billion in annual revenue.
The new agreement calls for $40 million to be put into an account to improve the mobility of freight in the area, an amount state Rep. Judy Clibborn described as a down payment that could be used to recruit further investments from the port and other organizations.
The port issued a statement Tuesday saying it would review the deal. The statement said the Port of Seattle Commission appreciates the council's efforts to revise the original proposal to respond to concerns.
The news is getting mixed reviews from some SoDo businesses.
Esquin Wine and Spirits has been a fixture in the neighborhood for nearly 40 years, and its owners say traffic congestion in the neighborhood has gotten worse over the years.
"We have two stadiums in the neighborhood so we know what stadium traffic does to us," said Alisha Gosline of Esquin.
Gosline adding another stadium could severely hurt the store, but other business owners say the prospect of added traffic is great news.
The Pyramid Ale House sits right next door to Safeco field and is always packed throughout the season. The idea of extending that season with two new teams gives the owners something to cheer about.
'We're one of the main restaurants down here, so definitely our profits I think will be record set, record set," said Cedric Armstrong of the Ale House.
The deal also includes $7 million in new money for KeyArena, where the Sonics used to play. The city would have sole discretion over spending that money.
Kris Brannon, a fan better known as "Sonics Guy," attended the news conference decked out entirely in Sonics yellow and green.
"I'm just overjoyed," he said. "Chris Hansen is just like us. He's a fan, and he wants to bring basketball back to Seattle."
This is special to alot of Seattle sports fans and thus Chris Hansen has become a hero to us Sonics fans and sports fans. That's why I started a campaign on facebook to get Chris Hansen to raise the 12th man flag which is the link I have posted below
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https://www.facebook.com/ChrisHansenShouldRaiseThe12thManFlag
It's $200 million in taxes and probably/maybe/we'll see if it gets paid back. The deal is structured to look like all the money will come back into the treasury, but that's just for appearances. Ask yourself, if the stadium is such a solid plan, why wouldn't it be funded by traditional real estate investment? The answer is that soaking the taxpayers is the standard graft on which the sports industry insists.
http://thankyouchrishansen.com/
I just don't want to pay for it, haven't been to a single football game, basketball game, baseball game at any of the arena's and I don't intend to start. Sitting is traffic, fighting for parking, then standing in long lines is not how I wish to ever spend my day. You all want it, fine with me, just don't ask me to pay for something that I NEVER use.
 @Bluewater That's a pretty narrow minded view of the game experience, especially for someone who has never been to a single game.  I can tell you I have been to plenty and it's far from what you describe, really.
 @Bluewater There you go. You don't pay for it if you don't go to any event there. Just remember that there are more than just basketball games there.Â
 @Bluewater If you read the thing at all, then you would know that you will not be paying for it!
The Sonics sucked why would someone want to create another team. Â Could be the name is cursed. Â
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Times three.Â
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 @Andrew Bush They were only the most successful sports team in Seattle. :rolleyes:
@Andrew BushThey sucked because the ownership made that their mission so they could make it easier for them to relocate.
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OY! As much as I would like to see a rebirth of NBA action in Seattle, this doesn't feel good.
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After all is said and done, team bought and placed, tax increases implemented for all of us including people living on the Eastern side of the state who may never go to a game in Seattle, on and on...what is to stop the 'owners' from selling the team down the road, to become the Kansas City Twisters or Louisiana Levees.....?
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I think that there has to be some guarantee for the host city not to lose their team based on a billionaire's whim. We ought to have a Green Bay deal, where the fans own the teams, not private folk who have traditionally invoked special elections to get stadiums built at the taxpayer's expense- or sell off a team because the tax payer's dissented from overspending.   I'm thinking that if the tax payers are being leaned on for more financial responsibility they should have a correspondant interest allotted them as partial owners of each team.Â
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Lest, we forget, we were still paying off the cost of building the Kingdome at the time when it was demolished.
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 @Smokin Bear It's obvious you haven't read a damn thing regarding this proposal, or just can't understand some of the most basic conditions that were outlined.
 @Smokin Bear And it doesn't increase taxes especially for people on the other side of the state.
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Typical can't do Seattle attitude. It's no wonder we are a second rate city and the rest of the country laughs at us.
 @Smokin Bear Realize that was the past and this is a completely different deal. If you actually read what's going on you would know that there are a lot of protections in place to avoid a repeat of that. Notice Safeco being paid for early and this is a better deal then that was. There is going to be some risk no matter what you do but in this deal it's minimal.
I'm not a fan of the NBA, but I would love to have a NHL team in Seattle! I would be one of the first in line to buy season tickets!
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I have a bad feeling about this.
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I'm not a Sonics fan (or basketball) for that matter, but I'm compelled to ask a few questions.
As a child a long time ago, an Uncle took me to a Sonics game at Key Arena. I was miserable. It was a hot sweaty environmet as a spectator much less a player. After they won the NBA title, they sudddenly need a new arena. So we rebuilt the Key and made it the state of the art (sunk the floor, pulled in the seats, etc.). A couple decades later, the management said, give us a better place to play or we'll leave. And they did. Fine.
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We built the Kingdome as a state of the art facility to home the Mariners and the Seahawks. Then we imploded it long before it was paid for. Then we built a new stadium for each team (much to the voters disapproval), and were told tough sh**. We're gonna do it anyway.
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Has either new stadium produced any modicum of a championship contender?
We don't have enough support to keep a basketball team as evidenced by thier moving.
We fail to support Jr. ice hockey, yet we will an NHL team?
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And what happened to the Port of Seattle's interest? I hear crickets on that front.
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Sorry folks, It just doesn't settle well with me.
 @bobalouie Ice hockey is well supported in this region.
 @bobalouie I'm glad it doesn't settle well with you because you come off as ignorant.
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"After they won the NBA title, they sudddenly need a new arena..."
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The Sonics won the championship in 1979, playing in both the Kingdome and the Coliseum. The Coliseum was refurbished 15 years later in 1994.
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"Has either new stadium produced any modicum of a championship contender?
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After Safeco Field was built, the Mariners played in the American League Championship Series --twice.After the Seahawks' new stadium was built, they won a number of division titles, won the NFC Championship and played the Super Bowl.
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"We don't have enough support to keep a basketball team as evidenced by thier moving.."
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I am not even going to respond to such a stupid statement.
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 @bobalouie A few corrections. You did not attend Key Arena as a child, it was the Seattle Center Coliseum then. While I never experienced the Coliseum as a "hot sweaty environment" I can attest to the fact that the air conditioning for the Coliseum was probably insufficient, as it was in ALL the buildings left from the 1962 World's Fair.
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Maybe Key Arena was "state of the art" when it re-opened but I doubt it. Even if it was, "state of the art" is dynamic and two decades later (has it been that long?) it would no longer be "state of the art" unless it had yet another rebuild; that's what "state of the art" means.
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The Kingdome was NEVER a "state of the art" facility. It was a cheaply built, multi-purpose facility that was no better than okay for ANY purpose. The Kingdome would have been paid for by the time of its implosion had it not been so cheaply constructed and needed a rebuild that cost close to the original cost. Nonetheless, it wasn't "long before it was paid for" when the decision was made to stop sending good money after bad.Â
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Contrary to what some people think, and other people try to tell us, it is NOT the stadium that produces a championship team, that requires many things, foremost is a team owner that wants to win. Seattle has been cursed with owners that used their teams as a tax write off rather than trying to build a winning team. The Sonics started their downhill slide when Sam Shulman sold the team. The Sonics leaving Seattle had nothing to do with the Seattle fan base and everything to do with a non-resident owner.
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Junior hockey in the greater Seattle area is alive and thriving. Not only does the area have the fan base for an NBA team it also has the fan base for an NHL team. What we need are resident owners (we will this time) and a good place to play.
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And finally, the Port of Seattle, appropriately abbreviated PoS, is nothing but a canard. The construction and operation of a third sports facility in the area will have minimal adverse effect upon the port.
 @bobalouie You know nothing if you don't think there is enough support here. The fans had absolutely nothing to do with the Sonics leaving. The team was sold to an out of town interest that wanted to move them. He then demanded a 500 million dollar stadium without offering to put up any money for it and wanted the city to foot the entire bill. That wasn't going to happen in any city in America which is the exact reason for ClayClay to demand it. He knew Seattle would say no.
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As for the other stadiums. Safeco is paid for......early. CLink is on track and also may be paid off early. The Kingdome was a failure all the way around as well as the "remodel" of the Key Arena. If you read up on the original MoU (I'm sure you won't as you've already made up your mind) and now the revisions to it you would see the protection for the city. There is a lot of it. Is it 100% perfect and risk free? Of course not. Nothing is but every economic expert sees that it's a great deal for the city.Â
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Blame who you want for what happened in the past but don't blame the fans.
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Oh and the 40 million for infrastructure should shut the Port up not to mention that the arena has absolutely nothing to do with why they can't compete with the Port of Tacoma which they stated is the biggest risk to their success. They are mismanaged just as the Mariners are.
 @bobalouie Also, stadiums don't win championships. Quality ownership and good management win championships. Chris Hansen is like Mark Cuban with out the self inflated ego although I wish Cuban would buy the Mariners so maybe they would have a chance to win something.
@bobalouie  First of all, your timeline spanned three seperate ownerships in regards to the Sonics. The Ackerly's wanted the remodel and it was done POORLY and made the Arena unusable for any potential NHL team. Howard Shultz bought the team and made promises that he broke. Five years later, he sells the team to an owner that hand NO interest in keeping the team in Seattle. All of us Sonics fans still have a bad taste in our mouth on how the team has handed away.
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As for the Kingdome, it was the finest piece of crap that was ever built in the 1970's. I remember my future wife waiting an hour in line to use the women's restroom. Don't forget the falling tiles in the mid 1990's either.
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Safeco Field is a SUPERIOR baseball field that got paid off last year. Four years early, in fact. I have not heard of any financial problems with the CLINK but I do know the original schedule is for it to be paid off by 2020. I would not be surprised if it's paid off earlier as well.
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Here's the fact you are missing, how much tax dollars (not bonds) where shelled out for Safeco? Answer: NONE.
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How much tax dollars were shelled out for the CLINK?
Answer: NONE.
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As for championship contender, the M's have been in a slump, no doubt about that. The Seahawks were in the Superbowl six years ago.  We can only hope both franchises turn themselves around.
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As for the Port of Seattle, "F" them. They are only griping for a hand-out and yet they rake in above a billion a year.
I wonder which gets built first the arena or tunnel...
Finally, we have our stadium to get the basketball team back in Seattle. Â Thanks goes out to all parties involved, especially Mr. Hansen.
Cool that he's buying everyone a beer at fx.
@dorimonsonfan  I'd go down there but I'm sure that 3000 of my closest friends will be there ahead of me in line. Nice gesture but the logistics will be a nightmare. I'll do a toast (from home) to Mr. Hansen, the city & county council, and ALL the Sonics fans that pestered the above mentioned politicians to make this decision. It was a team effort.
Chris Hansen is my personal superhero!
For some reason it seems like the old diehard fans of the one time Seattle Super Sonics think that the old team will be resurrected. I hate to break it to you kids but Downtown Freddie Brown and the rest of the boys won't be there. We are just making a Billionaire richer and we'll have another loosing team or two to support. It's all about money and politics.
A sad day in Seattle for all.
 @Skypilot Do you realize that your screen name was the nick name of a former Sonic player?
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Just wondering.
@Skypilot   Really? At the June rally, Gary Payton, Slick Watts, Shawn Kemp and Detlef Schrempf showed up on short notice. Gary Payton REFUSES to have his jersy hanging in OKC. You have no clue what you're talking about, you most likely haven't read one paragraph in the news regarding this story in the past 6 months. I doubt you're local either.Â
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Troll, BEGONE!!
People, the Sonics are not coming back. They are in another city and by the looks of things, their record is better because of it. BTW, we have a WNBA team don't forget. The two time WNBA champs Seattle Storm!!!
 @sb in seattle "They are in another city and by the looks of things, their record is better because of it." That right. The ownership ran them into the ground here so they can make it easier to relocate, THEN that's when they made them a winning team. It was all planned!
 @sb in seattle Oh but they are coming back. There will be NBA basketball in Seattle again and they will be named the Sonics.
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Thanks for stopping by.
 @sb in seattle "BTW, we have a WNBA team don't forget. The two time WNBA champs Seattle Storm!!!"  - yeah, but we want a sports team.  If I wanted to see basketball of the WNBA caliber, I would go to my nephews jr. high games. Â
How about 200 million to put back into the roads instead?
 @political_i Okay, then why don't you become a private investor and invest in some money for those roads? I love how so many of you who obviously don't care still don't take the time to figure out that our tax dollars are NOT being used to pay for this.
 @political_i Please do some research, this isn't 200 million that is just sitting somewhere or is being taken away from another budget and used for the arena.  The money is generated by the arena and the people who are using the arena.  It's really not that hard of a concept people.
 @political_iÂ
 @political_i ...if State & Seattle D.O.T. had done their job correctly over the last 20 years, we would not need $200 Million more for roads.
um, yay!
I only care about this because of NHL
 @ducati Coyotes aren't moving, good luck with that
What was wrong with the Sonics. You HAD a team and you let them go. How much more money is it going to cost to get another team.
 @dkgiovenco Oh for God's sake! Educate yourself on what happened! Do you have any idea how idiotic you're making yourself look?
 @dkgiovenco We (the fans) did not let them go. They were stolen from us. Please educate yourself.
@Hachee_Bungwhy: I believe our elected officials decided they were worth 30 milion when the allowed the breaking of the lease. Blame for all, excluding the fans.
@Hachee_Bungwhy: The city also ignored requests for help from the coffee man...that doesn't let him off the hook either, but the city shares a lagre piece of the blame-pie (including a few current members of the city council).
 @WalletVoter Even then the City was held hostage with a stupid deal from Bennett that no one in their right mind would have agreed to. Build me a half a billion dollar arena and I won't pay a dime for it. So terrible.Â
$200 million in public money. Then let the public vote on it.
@Blindman - I agree. Some people aren't seeing the 'forest for the trees' - too excited over the prospect of having the Soncis back.   The pattern I've noticed over the years, is 'dangle the carrot and get the tax payers to approve increased public revenues on a promise, then when the project or offer goes overbudget dangle another carrot or threaten to leave 'em high and dry.' I would like to see a contract with the residents who foot the bill over and above providing tax dollars- they buy the tickets to see the games, the souveniers and clothing, concessions: I say let them have a piece of the ownership.
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Back in the 80's, I had the pleasure of attending one of the most exciting games as Dale Ellis tossed a 3pt shot as the buzzer hit 00 that broke the tie in double overtime against the 76ers. The place went nuts and the building was rumbling from all of the bouncing and foot stomping.Â
It was wonderful but a lot has changed since that time - I don't see us getting back to that 'place.'
 @Blindman It bonding capacity with the bond paid by revenues from the arena.  No direct funding from the taxpayer.  If you don't go to a event you as a tax payer pay nothing.
@ifETA @Blindman - Not necessarily. Depending on the type of bond, tax payers may be unwittingly  assuming the risk.
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"...The risk ("security") of a municipal bond is a measure of how likely the issuer is to make all payments, on time and in full, as promised in the agreement between the issuer and bond holder (the "bond documents").
Different types of bonds are secured by various types of repayment sources, based on the promises made in the bond documents:
General obligation bonds promise to repay based on the full faith and credit of the issuer; these bonds are typically considered the most secure type of municipal bond, and therefore carry the lowest interest rate.
Revenue bonds promise repayment from a specified stream of future income, such as income generated by a water utility from payments by customers.Assessment bonds promise repayment based on property tax assessments of properties located within the issuer's boundaries.
In addition, there are several other types of municipal bonds with different promises of security..."
 @Blindman I don't know the exact details, but that 200 million is going to come from municipal and county bonds, not new taxes such as on property.
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With the cost of borrowing money right now being extremely low, the city/county is in a great position to issue bonds to investors and pay very little in interest in difference between their borrowing rate and their payout rate. Â
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I would imagine that it will end up on a ballot, but I'm not sure. Â Â
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I vote Yes!!!
 @Shelly You are in the 45%
 @oldster70  @Shelly really did you conduct a balanced poll?
 @Blindman So how do you determine which publicly funded projects or public spending goes to a vote and which don't.  If you think we should vote on all public spending you are crazy, our election budget would be absurd.
Any project that does not serve the general welfare of the public. This project serves a very narrow group of people that can afford to fund this project themselves. Pro sports doesn't serve the general public. Its just a business venture. Tax payers should not be investing in business ventures without their consent. @oledawg  @Blindman
 @Blindman FALSE! Professional sports teams DO serve the greater populace. The taxes and general revenues generated by the construction and later by the operation of the stadium enhances everyone whether or not they choose to go to a game.
@oledawg @Blindman That's because the middle men won't create a system that makes them obsolete. Direct democracy is technically possible and very easy to implement today.
 @Damian "very easy to implement today."  Oh please enlighten us as to how this would be easy.  I'm not saying it wouldn't be possible, but 'easy' is laughable. Â