From our friends at NewBallpark in the
other Bay Area:
Casino giant MGM/Mirage and arena giant AEG broke ground today on a $375 million arena in Las Vegas.
The new venue, which is being designed by Populous, will have a maximum
capacity of 20,000 and is expected to open in spring of 2016.
...
There’s no shortage of large venues in Vegas, with the Grand Garden
Arena at 16,800 seats. The Mandalay Bay Events Center, also an MGM
property, has a capacity of 12,000. The largest venue in the area has
long been UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center, which holds 19,500 for
concerts. Orleans Arena’s capacity is 9,500. Concert halls at The Palms
and the Hard Rock support 4,000 or so. Vegas mayor Carolyn Goodman
supports an arena in downtown Las Vegas, but with the new arena coming
on line there’s more than enough capacity. Both that project and the
UNLV Now! arena/stadium combo require a significant amount of public
funding, and could lose support over time. Thomas & Mack is expected
to undergo $60 million in renovations to support the National Finals
Rodeo, a longtime tenant that signed a 10-year extension to stay in the
city (not necessarily at the arena).
The post makes a phenomenal point that should not be lost at the end:
At $375 million for construction cost, this arena will come in much lower than the planned arenas in Sacramento and San Francisco. It goes to show how budget-conscious companies can be when they’re building their own venues.
Which begs the question, if the Rays had to pay for their own stadium, how much would the estimated $550 million price tag drop?
So the Rays should borrow money from the Seminoles?
ReplyDeleteWell if the price dropped to $500 million, and was 100% financed, the yearly mortgage payment at 5% for 30 years would be about $32 million. Stu Sternberg, in less than 10 years, has seen the TB Bucs franchise appreciated from $176 million to $476 million - about $30 million per year growth - hey that just about covers the mortgage, Now, when you consider that the reason a new stadium needs to be built is to increase attendance and revenue, there should be absolutely no problem finding the other $2 million.
ReplyDeleteDufala, if the Rays wanted to borrow money, they'd have no problem getting it and taxpayers would have no problem with their plans. The problem is, pro teams generally want handouts, not a loan.
ReplyDelete