This is a bit of a non-surprise to many Amarillo residents.
The price of the proposed downtown multipurpose event venue/ballpark has come in a bit greater than originally thought.
Is it cause to toss the idea into the crapper? Not even close.
I’ll admit that I didn’t quite buy into the notion that the MPEV would cost more than the $32 million price tag attached to the non-binding referendum that voters approved in November 2015. I had some faith that the cost would hold up. It hasn’t, according to consultants who have delivered a $48.4 million price tag to the City Council to consider.
What’s the city going to do to cover the cost?
That is the $48.4 million question that the council has asked the Local Government Corp. to figure out. The LGC has received the directive and plans to deliver a report in April to the council.
The increased cost presumes that the city will hook up with a Double-A minor-league baseball team affiliated with a major league franchise.
Suppose the city does land an affiliated minor-league team for the city. Suppose as well that the city builds the MPEV for $48.4 million. Then let’s suppose what might occur if the baseball team fills up the MPEV with thousands of baseball fans every day or night.
Mayor Paul Harpole believes — and I think he’s correct — that the boost in sales tax revenue likely could more than offset any potential property tax increase that residents would have to bear.
“That regional money that comes into our city through sales tax has helped us keep property tax down,” saidĀ Harpole.Ā “It’s important that we keep that growth as long as we can, but it has to make economic sense. It has to be something where it doesn’t put the city in too much debt. So we’ll look at that and see what it is and get an answer back and see what we’re going toĀ do.”
Let’s not look askanceĀ at the job growth and economic impact created by the MPEV. The consultant that made the report to the City Council, Brailsford and Dunleavy, projects an estimated 341 permanent jobs associated with the MPEV and about $25 million pumped annually into the Amarillo economy.
Does the city issue certificates of obligation? Does it submit a bond issue to the voters, asking residents to approve it? Are there economic development grant funds available for the city to seek?
LGC officials and City Council members have committed to proceeding with exploring this issue thoroughly.
Count me as one Amarillo resident who maintains an abiding faith that the MPEV — even with its inflated cost — can bring a much greaterĀ economic return to the community than what it is likely to spend.