July 26, 201313 yr This is from yesterday: New Stadium Likely Unaffected by Bankruptcy It appears the arena is part of a $650 million entertainment district project. The bond issue specifically for the arena is $450 million. Of that bond issue, $238 million is public and you're right, it is from the state, not the city. The funds are derived from property taxes on downtown real estate. Apparently it's from a section of dedicated state funds designated as property tax revenue to be used specifically for re-development. I'd like to see the full deal. There's been no evidence that the supposed economic redevelopment that comes from a new arena/stadium ever materializes. This is my biggest issue with these new stadiums. If the economic numbers driving them are sound then I'm all for it. But too many times we've seen that it was hogwash. That's one reason Louisville is struggling so much with The Yum center. The tax money that was supposed to be generated in the surrounding blocks just hasn't happened.
July 26, 201313 yr This is my biggest issue with these new stadiums. If the economic numbers driving them are sound then I'm all for it. But too many times we've seen that it was hogwash. That's one reason Louisville is struggling so much with The Yum center. The tax money that was supposed to be generated in the surrounding blocks just hasn't happened. It's from a fundamental misunderstanding of how urban redevelopment works or -- more cynically -- politicians trying to do economic redevelopment projects the easy way instead of an effective way. Downtown areas faltered in the 1960s moving forward because nobody wanted to live near them anymore. Once no one wanted to live there, it was only a matter of time before movie theaters, department stores and food suppliers (restaurants and groceries) followed behind. Economic redevelopment works primarily in efforts to make urban areas livable for actual residents, not transient drinkers in the city for a concert or basketball game. It's easy to get a bunch of money set aside for one big project. It's much tougher to develop from nothingness a livable, walkable, viable neighborhood with the amenities that make urban living possible. The entertainment districts will be successful when downtown office and residential occupancy grows, not when more sports teams and pop music acts play in the city center.
July 30, 201313 yr Stossel did a show on Detroit last night. He and his panel made similar comments as I did earlier in this thread. The main one is - this only the first major city to be hit. Others will follow. One interesting segment indicated that Detroit was a forerunner to many of the government programs that have helped lead to the current troubles. Detroit was the early 'model' and test bed for urban political programs. Many of these were then used in other cities.
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