Arena update?

[The Spaz]

I have been away for a few months and just wanted to know what the updated status of the new arena, like where are we in terms of stages etc. Also I thought a member had some arena info sig. but I couldn't find it. Thanks for any help you can give me. Go Magic!!:)

[UCF]

Besides the bonds costing the city more than we hoped, nope. No news is good news imo on this one.

[AdamTheGreek]

Official groundbreaking will be in the summer, but everything looks good and quiet right now as they're leveling out the land.

[BassMaster]

Official groundbreaking will be in the summer, but everything looks good and quiet right now as they're leveling out the land.

Though I read in the news that haven't gotten all of the land they wanted some private landholders are holding out.
It is going to cost at least 150 million more then they thought because their bonds are not selling very well. They had to offer higher interest rates because of the bond market meltdown. Because of this they have not sold all of the bonds yet. So the total figure has not been reached as of yet.

[drsd]

Also, the tourist tax issue has not gone away. A new fight is internet use of travel agencies and the shielding of those sites from the FLorida tax.

All of this equals money, and that damages the finances of the construction costs.

[CourtsideTV]

-= original quote snipped =-



Though I read in the news that haven't gotten all of the land they wanted some private landholders are holding out.
It is going to cost at least 150 million more then they thought because their bonds are not selling very well. They had to offer higher interest rates because of the bond market meltdown. Because of this they have not sold all of the bonds yet. So the total figure has not been reached as of yet.

they have all the land they need. they settled in court for 8 million + 2 million for lawyers expense...

I believe they start in August.

[AdamTheGreek]

They have all the land and are building the infrastructure.

[Just Plain Mark]

Also, the tourist tax issue has not gone away. A new fight is internet use of travel agencies and the shielding of those sites from the FLorida tax.

All of this equals money, and that damages the finances of the construction costs.

Wouldn't this either result in new, additional tax revenue that wasn't expected or simply leave the amount expected? I'm not sure how the Magic are negatively affected by that issue.

[Magicfan94]

I don't think the internet fight will hurt this.

Groundbreaking is planned for this summer and the location has only a couple occupied structures left, they woll be gone by this summer.

I imagine we'll break ground before next season, and start playing in it to open '10-'11...However some prospectors suggest it might be midseason before we can move in.

[mhectorgato]

I don't think the internet fight will hurt this.

Groundbreaking is planned for this summer and the location has only a couple occupied structures left, they woll be gone by this summer.

I imagine we'll break ground before next season, and start playing in it to open '10-'11...However some prospectors suggest it might be midseason before we can move in.

After this arena thread was started, did you see a"Magicfan94" light go off in the sky (think Batman)?

[Magicfan94]

Hahaha, pretty close, I have been so busy that I usually just make it on and read, rarely posting.

This obviously, caught my eye.

[AdamTheGreek]

There's just one structure left on the arena property, and it's a little dark red/brown house/storage area.
On the south side of South Street they're building the I-4 ramps and sticking piping and leveling out the area for the parking garage.
The north side of South Street their just clearing out the grassy areas, haven't really touched that side yet.
Eventually, South Street will be completely closed off past the west side of I-4.

[drsd]

Wouldn't this either result in new, additional tax revenue that wasn't expected or simply leave the amount expected? I'm not sure how the Magic are negatively affected by that issue.

And you, Orlando tax-payer, will pick up all cost off-sets. This is the sad reality of publicly funded facilities.

This is a non-trivial issue. With the housing market in Florida in the brown-side of the toilet, taxes are probable to come short. Then what? The city and county will have to off-set all costs against other putative investments.

As a parallel, a similar issue was resolved in Cleveland by reducing the education budget to pay for the new Browns' stadium. Yes. Money was directly taken from schools to pay for football.

At this point, Orlando residents can predict a cash shortage from lower-than-expected tax revenues.

[CourtsideTV]

There's just one structure left on the arena property, and it's a little dark red/brown house/storage area.
On the south side of South Street they're building the I-4 ramps and sticking piping and leveling out the area for the parking garage.
The north side of South Street their just clearing out the grassy areas, haven't really touched that side yet.
Eventually, South Street will be completely closed off past the west side of I-4.

how do you know south street will b closed off past west of I4? If that is the case..there goes my sohrtcut..lol

btw..they cleared some trees on the division/south lot..i saw some heavy duty equipment roll in.. progress is good:)

I think they should keep that double story brick building for construction/planning office(s) until they need to build on that area.

[AdamTheGreek]

Oh no, South Street will stay open until at least the summer. But eventually it will be closed off West of I-4 because part of the arena is going to sit on it last I checked.

[CourtsideTV]

true. I wasn't aware of that..I was tring to figure out how they would fit it b/w division/south/hughey/church..but thats not big enough so I guess its extending towards the what used to be bridge area.

[lovehoops01]

-= original quote snipped =-



And you, Orlando tax-payer, will pick up all cost off-sets. This is the sad reality of publicly funded facilities.

This is a non-trivial issue. With the housing market in Florida in the brown-side of the toilet, taxes are probable to come short. Then what? The city and county will have to off-set all costs against other putative investments.

As a parallel, a similar issue was resolved in Cleveland by reducing the education budget to pay for the new Browns' stadium. Yes. Money was directly taken from schools to pay for football.

At this point, Orlando residents can predict a cash shortage from lower-than-expected tax revenues. :(

Well, so far tax revenues still are up. There are more vacant hotel rooms, but that's mostly because so many still were being built.

And taxpayers might end up funding some of the higher costs, but not all. The Magic agreed as part of the deal to pick up the cost overruns. Whether that extends to funding, I don't know. However, I can't say if it will affect, for example, whether the Magic would be willing to trade for a higher contract and also sign someone to the MLE. Still, $150 million additional for financing sounds like a lot. It's going to drive up the cost 30 percent? That seems way unreasonable.

[The Spaz]

Thanks for the update guys!

[DiplomaticMagic]

Bob Vander Weide said everything is going good and as planned.