Thursday, April 2, 2009
40 Jealous Whores / Hannan / Politics / The Economy Creative Convention Center Mathematics With Phil Ryan, Head of MDHA
Posted by Caleb Hannan on Thu, Apr 2, 2009 at 10:52 AM
On Tuesday, Ryan provided answers to what he described as Frequently Asked Questions he'd received regarding the Music City Center, the proposed billion-dollar downtown convention center. It was meant to be informative. It came off as pure lobbying. Bad enough when you consider it came from a guy on the public payroll. Worse when you consider that Ryan didn't even bother to get his numbers right.
To wit:
Q: How
much has the old convention center cost
A:
Nothing. It was funded by the hotel/motel tax, which generated enough revenue to
pay for the construction of the center. Those bonds were retired in 2007. Using
that as a model, the Council has enacted funding streams - paid by visitors -
that will cover the cost of the new convention center, so that
The old convention center cost Nashville taxpayers nothing. Wrong. Last year, Metro took $1 million out of the general fund (that'd be your property taxes) to cover operating debts, i.e. keeping the lights on and paying someone to sweep the floors.
It was funded by the hotel/motel tax, which generated enough revenue to pay for the construction of the center. True, it paid for the construction. These bonds were retired in 2007. They certainly were. Using that as a model, the Council has enacted funding streams - paid by visitors - that will cover the cost of the new convention center, so that Nashville taxpayers will not have to pay for it. Now you're just guessing.
Metro finance still hasn't presented council with a plan to pay for the Music City Center. In the absence of hard facts, guess work like this -- which should be all the more dubious considering we can't cover the debts on the much smaller, much cheaper center we already have -- is completely meaningless.
The bright side: at least these broad statements came from a paid lobbyist. Someone whose agenda is clear. Otherwise, it'd just seem way undemocratic.
Comments (2)
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Weren't there federal redevelopment funds used to build the current center with the hotel motel making up the difference?
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AtHome: The guy who would know is Ronnie Scott. He was the head of the municipal bond department at JC Bradford, the firm that helped whip that colicky infant of a project into something resembling a success. We've got a call into Scott and I'll let you know once we hear. But as far as most people I've talked to know, the NCC was built entirely with government obligation bonds funded by the hotel tax.
