What is it with people from Mesa??? 
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/cardinals/articles/0505stadiumtax05.html
Lawmaker challenges funding for stadium
Pat Flannery
The Arizona Republic
May. 5, 2005 12:00 AM
Arizona's budget war has spilled from the political arena into the sports arena, with a key state lawmaker and local sports interests battling over funding for Glendale's new Cardinals Stadium.
The Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority thinks the outcome could short-circuit a key bond issue, threatening the state's ability to host the 2007 Bowl Championship Series and the 2008 NFL Super Bowl.
But House Appropriations Committee Chairman Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, on Wednesday dismissed those concerns. He said language he has added to one of several budget bills would protect state taxpayers at little cost to the stadium.
The disagreement is one more obstacle facing lawmakers during testy budget negotiations. Gov. Janet Napolitano already vetoed one budget delivered to her and could well veto the new version now being crafted.
Pearce aims to stop the flow of certain state funds to the $370.6 million stadium at Loop 101 and Maryland Avenue.
Most of the venue's funding comes from local hotel-bed taxes and rental-car surcharges approved by voters, supplemented by funds contributed by the National Football League and the Arizona Cardinals. The county taxes are used to pay off 30-year construction bonds.
However, the stadium funding formula written into state law also funnels to the sports authority the state income taxes paid by Cardinals players. Those revenues are guaranteed in the formula to increase by 8 percent every year. If team members' income tax payments do not increase by 8 percent in a given year, the state's General Fund must make up the difference.
This year, that difference amounts to $1.2 million. Next year, it will be about $1 million, authority President Ted Ferris said.
Pearce has chafed over the provision for two years, arguing that it is bad public policy. He does not believe voters knew about the provision, though Ferris said the 8 percent escalator was explained in November 2000 election pamphlets sent to voters.
Pearce also worries that the amount in question could more than double in the future.
"They (the authority) have many other resources, and they no longer should have a debit card to the bank of the Arizona taxpayer," he said.
His solution was to insert a provision in a budget bill that would prevent the General Fund from kicking in money when the Cardinals' income-tax payments fall short of the 8 percent growth mark.
Ferris and authority board member Larry Landry warn that if the measure passes, an upcoming $53 million bond issue could be scuttled, breaking the state's promise to deliver extra seating for the 2008 Super Bowl, the 2007 Fiesta Bowl and the 2007 BCS college football championship.
The stadium is on schedule to be finished in August 2006. The upcoming bond issue would pay for final infrastructure improvements being made with Glendale's financial cooperation, as well as 10,000 temporary special-event seats that expand the stadium's capacity to 73,000 for mega-events. At a cost of $5 million, the special seating was promised to the Fiesta Bowl, the Super Bowl and the BCS bowl.
The authority's bond adviser, RBC Dain Rauscher, said in a March letter to Ferris that the state funds provide "reasonable assurance" to bond buyers that the authority can maintain the cash flow needed to service its debts. The authority already sold $222 million in stadium bonds in 2003.
If the state funds disappear, RBC Dain Rauscher said, "we believe that the authority could not complete its planned $53 million Completion Bond sale, which . . . is the remaining critical financing piece to keep the stadium project on schedule and on budget."
"The timing couldn't be worse," Landry said. "If he (Pearce) takes this money away, we won't be able to bond and can't provide what we promised. This runs counter to the bill that they just passed to bring the BCS championship to the stadium in '07."
Pearce doesn't buy the argument, saying a lawsuit several years ago established that state funds could not be pledged to repay stadium bonds. Ferris said the action would affect the authority's overall financial condition, putting future bonding in jeopardy.
The sports authority also is trying to convince lawmakers that there is a net gain to the state's General Fund through taxes paid by the stadium and millions the authority pays annually into a state tourism promotion fund. This year, stadium construction will contribute $7 million in taxes to the General Fund, Ferris said.
Reach the reporter at [email protected] or (602) 444-8629.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/cardinals/articles/0505stadiumtax05.html
Lawmaker challenges funding for stadium
Pat Flannery
The Arizona Republic
May. 5, 2005 12:00 AM
Arizona's budget war has spilled from the political arena into the sports arena, with a key state lawmaker and local sports interests battling over funding for Glendale's new Cardinals Stadium.
The Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority thinks the outcome could short-circuit a key bond issue, threatening the state's ability to host the 2007 Bowl Championship Series and the 2008 NFL Super Bowl.
But House Appropriations Committee Chairman Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, on Wednesday dismissed those concerns. He said language he has added to one of several budget bills would protect state taxpayers at little cost to the stadium.
The disagreement is one more obstacle facing lawmakers during testy budget negotiations. Gov. Janet Napolitano already vetoed one budget delivered to her and could well veto the new version now being crafted.
Pearce aims to stop the flow of certain state funds to the $370.6 million stadium at Loop 101 and Maryland Avenue.
Most of the venue's funding comes from local hotel-bed taxes and rental-car surcharges approved by voters, supplemented by funds contributed by the National Football League and the Arizona Cardinals. The county taxes are used to pay off 30-year construction bonds.
However, the stadium funding formula written into state law also funnels to the sports authority the state income taxes paid by Cardinals players. Those revenues are guaranteed in the formula to increase by 8 percent every year. If team members' income tax payments do not increase by 8 percent in a given year, the state's General Fund must make up the difference.
This year, that difference amounts to $1.2 million. Next year, it will be about $1 million, authority President Ted Ferris said.
Pearce has chafed over the provision for two years, arguing that it is bad public policy. He does not believe voters knew about the provision, though Ferris said the 8 percent escalator was explained in November 2000 election pamphlets sent to voters.
Pearce also worries that the amount in question could more than double in the future.
"They (the authority) have many other resources, and they no longer should have a debit card to the bank of the Arizona taxpayer," he said.
His solution was to insert a provision in a budget bill that would prevent the General Fund from kicking in money when the Cardinals' income-tax payments fall short of the 8 percent growth mark.
Ferris and authority board member Larry Landry warn that if the measure passes, an upcoming $53 million bond issue could be scuttled, breaking the state's promise to deliver extra seating for the 2008 Super Bowl, the 2007 Fiesta Bowl and the 2007 BCS college football championship.
The stadium is on schedule to be finished in August 2006. The upcoming bond issue would pay for final infrastructure improvements being made with Glendale's financial cooperation, as well as 10,000 temporary special-event seats that expand the stadium's capacity to 73,000 for mega-events. At a cost of $5 million, the special seating was promised to the Fiesta Bowl, the Super Bowl and the BCS bowl.
The authority's bond adviser, RBC Dain Rauscher, said in a March letter to Ferris that the state funds provide "reasonable assurance" to bond buyers that the authority can maintain the cash flow needed to service its debts. The authority already sold $222 million in stadium bonds in 2003.
If the state funds disappear, RBC Dain Rauscher said, "we believe that the authority could not complete its planned $53 million Completion Bond sale, which . . . is the remaining critical financing piece to keep the stadium project on schedule and on budget."
"The timing couldn't be worse," Landry said. "If he (Pearce) takes this money away, we won't be able to bond and can't provide what we promised. This runs counter to the bill that they just passed to bring the BCS championship to the stadium in '07."
Pearce doesn't buy the argument, saying a lawsuit several years ago established that state funds could not be pledged to repay stadium bonds. Ferris said the action would affect the authority's overall financial condition, putting future bonding in jeopardy.
The sports authority also is trying to convince lawmakers that there is a net gain to the state's General Fund through taxes paid by the stadium and millions the authority pays annually into a state tourism promotion fund. This year, stadium construction will contribute $7 million in taxes to the General Fund, Ferris said.
Reach the reporter at [email protected] or (602) 444-8629.
