When Mayor McGinn and County Executive Constantine announced an arena proposal on February 16, they also announced the appointment of an Arena Review Panel to evaluate the proposal. The panel has met twice; you can watch the meetings by clicking on the dates below:
The panel is scheduled to meet on Monday, March 12, in the Chinook Conference Center in the King County Chinook Building at 401 5th Avenue, Suite 121-123.
The March 7 meeting included a discussion with prospective NBA team owner Chris Hansen, and discussion of public-private partnerships and financial matters. One document from the meeting includes a listing of cities with multiple professional sports franchises, prepared in response to a request from panel members.
Two sheets list sample estimates for revenue from the financial model used for the project. While not definitive, they are useful for illustrative purposes. The first lists revenue from admissions and TV.
The second document lists an estimate of revenue generated by the arena, the city and county taxes generated to finance 30-year bonds, and the security reserve. It estimates Admissions tax revenues would account for 64% of Seattle taxes, with Business and Occupation 18%, Property Tax 11%, and Sales and Leasehold Excise 4% and 3%, respectively. It also estimates the amount of rent payments that would be needed to cover bond costs, and a $39.6 million security reserve after 10 years.
The panel will issue a report during the forthcoming weeks; additional information about the review panel materials, membership, and charge are available at the City’s Arena Review panel website.
On February 29, the City Council Government Performance and Finance Committee, chaired by Councilmember Burgess, held an informative briefing on the City’s debt capacity. You can download the presentation or watch the meeting by clicking on the links.
