* I think it’s time somebody finally figures out just what the heck has really been proposed for the Wrigley Field deal. This is one of the stories we’ve been fed…
The Cubs would sell the park to the [state] agency for the nominal sum of $1, and the new owners would sign on to rent the park from the state for at least 30 years. In exchange the Sports Facilities Authority would issue bonds to cover reconstruction costs.
* But this nugget is from today’s Sun-Times. It’s buried in an article about how Mayor Daley has changed his tune and is now keeping an open mind about a potential state buyout of the park…
Since then, sources said the mayor and his staff have been fully briefed on a deal that would guarantee [Tribune Co. owner Sam Zell] a huge up-front payment for Wrigley — tens of millions higher than he might otherwise receive selling the stadium privately — by having the ISFA use its power to issue tax-exempt, longer-term bonds at a reduced interest rate.
The bonds would be retired by 30 years of stadium rent from a new owner who would sign an “ironclad commitment” to remain at Wrigley during that time.
A dollar would not qualify as a “huge up-front payment.”
* The Tribune had this brief explanation in a story last month…
Selling Wrigley to [the state] could be more profitable for the future employee owners of Tribune Co. because of the tax-exempt status of municipal bonds used to finance the purchase.
For a dollar?
* And then there’s the benefits of a state sale for the new Cubs owners…
In addition, if the state owns Wrigley Field, the new owners won’t have to pay property taxes on it. In 2007 the Tribune Company paid $1,151,487 in property taxes on Wrigley. This year the bill will go up to around $1.43 million. At the rate property taxes are soaring, the new owners are looking to save more than $50 million in property taxes over the course of the 30-year lease.
* And could a TIF district be involved? This is also from the Sun-Times…
[Jim Thompson] acknowledged that “there would have to be neighborhood improvements along with restoration of the stadium.”
But he said, “For the moment, I’m not looking at taxes. I’m looking at non-tax revenue” like the tax increment financing scheme now being used to bankroll a new $1 billion Yankee Stadium on a park across the street from the House that Ruth Built.
TIF Districts are tax revenues by another name, Thompson.