5/11/2005
Media Contact:
Steve Campbell, [317] 327-3622 |
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Mayor applauds signing of stadium, convention center expansion project
INDIANAPOLIS - Mayor Bart Peterson today applauded the Capital Improvement Board (CIB), the Indiana General Assembly, Gov. Mitch Daniels and local business and community leaders for their hard work in passing House Enrolled Act 1120, which will expand the convention center and build a new multi-purpose stadium in downtown Indianapolis.
Gov. Daniels signed the bill today, which paves the way for approval by the Indianapolis-Marion County City-County Council and county councils in the counties surrounding Indianapolis of various funding mechanisms. The project includes:
• Expansion of the Indiana Convention Center, which will add as many as 28 major conventions and trade shows, create 2,700 additional jobs and produce $165 million in new sales;
• A new multi-use venue, scheduled to open in the fall of 2008 with a retractable roof;
• A new home for the next four decades for NCAA Basketball's "March Madness," which includes guaranteed NCAA Basketball Men's Final Fours, Women's Final Fours, Men's First and Second Round or Regional Basketball Tournament games, and Women's First and Second Round or Regional Basketball Tournament games;
• Keeping the National Football League (NFL) and the Indianapolis Colts for 30 more years, which will create 1,500 full- and part-time jobs and produce $104 million in economic benefit; and
• A chance to bid for the NFL's Super Bowl, the crown jewel of the sports world and one of the most-watched events in the world.
The project will pump $2.25 billion into the economy over the next 10 years, create 4,200 permanent jobs and 4,900 construction jobs and strengthen Indianapolis as one of the top convention destinations in America.
"I am so happy for the people of Indianapolis and grateful to the many in our city who have, for nearly three years, moved this project to this point," Mayor Peterson said. "So many people - from the state legislature to the governor to our many supporters - deserve credit for getting this project off the ground and moving forward."
The Mayor thanked Gov. Daniels and state legislators specifically for agreeing to several of the Mayor's requests to make the project more successful including:
• Ensuring appropriate participation of minority- and women-owned businesses;
• Ensuring that contracts for the project would be awarded by a non-political selection process; and
• Ensuring the project would be guaranteed on-time and on-budget from a labor standpoint by use of a project labor agreement, such as the one former Mayor Steve Goldsmith used to build Conseco Fieldhouse.
Peterson said that he was pleased the legislation was passed and signed, but it included some potential future problems including:
• Lack of operation & maintenance funding. The legislation includes ample funding to develop, design and construct the project, but does not factor in any funding for the CIB to operate and maintain the new facilities. The city had sought to model the financing after Goldsmith's Conseco Fieldhouse arrangement so that the funding would be routed through the CIB to provide both for the development/design/construction costs and the operation and maintenance costs for the project.
Under the city's proposal, the city would have guaranteed meeting the project's budget and, separately, had enough funding left over to handle operation and maintenance costs for the new facilities. Despite adding a potential stadium tax to its funding package that the city views as unnecessary, the State did not provide additional operation and maintenance funding or accept the city's proposal to do so at no extra cost to the project. Unless rectified by future legislation action, this situation will bankrupt the CIB shortly after the project is completed.
• Stadium tax. The legislation includes the possibility of a stadium tax to help finance construction. Because the city's financing plan had enough funding so that a stadium tax would not have been necessary, the CIB and the city believe such a tax also should be unnecessary under the state's financing plan, especially since the State's plan does not provide for additional operation and maintenance costs. In addition, the Colts have made it clear that the team will not sign a lease where an additional stadium tax remains a possibility.
On Monday, the CIB passed a resolution which transferred project information and overall responsibility to Gov. Daniels and the state stadium and convention building authority, which now will oversee design and construction of the project. The CIB will operate both facilities upon completion.
The project is currently on-time and on-budget for a completion date of August 1, 2008 for the stadium and 2010 for the convention center expansion. Gov. Daniels has made it clear that the State can complete the project on-time and on-budget.
"As we transfer this project to the state, it is on-time and on-budget," CIB President Fred Glass said. "Even though the State now controls the project, we will do what we can to help them be successful in this important endeavor."
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