Dynamo Stadium land deal vote tagged

We'll have to wait for City Council to take action on the Dynamo Stadium land deal until next week, as it was tagged on the Council agenda yesterday.

The vote was delayed for a week because legal documents were not ready for examination, officials said.

Mayor Bill White said he could not rule out the possibility of some public funds being used for the stadium's construction. But he will negotiate for the Dynamo's owners to absorb the entire cost, he said.

The Anschutz Entertainment Group, owner of the Dynamo, has said in the past it would bear most of the costs, but would like city assistance.

"I'm not saying we won't provide any public funds," White said. "What I am saying is we won't use funds that could be used for providing for essential city services, such as solid waste and parks and libraries and things like that, public safety."

Last spring, a mayoral spokesman said White had ruled out using property tax revenues to help finance the stadium, but sales and hotel occupancy taxes could be an option.

White said if public funds were used, they will not come out of the city's general fund or involve new taxes.

The mayor discussed a scenario that would involve property taxes collected by a Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone, a special district in which rising property tax revenues are funneled back into the zone for infrastructure improvements to attract further development.

Nothing much new here. I'm interested to hear more about what the TIRZ may do, but that's part and parcel of wanting to see all the details. Hopefully, we'll get that next week. Stay tuned.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on February 21, 2008 to Other sports