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Stadium financing plan uses districting, stadium-related levies

By Andy Giegerich
The Business Journal of Portland

The latest financing plan for a baseball stadium in Portland would employ a variety of new levy-charging districts and event-related charges.

As part of the plan, some $13 million currently collected from hotels and motels to pay off bonds related to the renovation of PGE Park would be shifted toward a new stadium's development. In turn, the city will explore "redevelopment opportunities" for PGE Park.

The Oregon Stadium Campaign, which is leading the drive to bring a relocated Major League Baseball team to Portland, will send the proposal to the league next week, said campaign head David Kahn.

The plan was unveiled Thursday, nearly a year after the Oregon Senate passed one of its key components, a measure that would raise $115 million by applying the state income taxes earned by players and executives earning more than $100,000 toward bonds. Besides that money, the $350 million plan would collect:

$85 million from a 10 percent ticket fee;
$56 million by creating a "stadium district" in which businesses would pay a license fee and a fee based on their gross receipts;
$29 million from a concessions and merchandise fee;
$12 million from a lease fee paid by the team;
$25 million from a charter seat program paid by ticket holders;
$10 million from tax-increment financing measures. Five of the seven stadium sites under consideration sit in urban renewal areas.
Kahn said the campaign has talked with at least one potential team owner, but wouldn't identify the parties. The financing plan won't be used to help attract the Montreal Expos, which Major League Baseball, the team's owner, could relocate after this season.

Other teams believed to be under consideration for relocation include the Oakland Athletics, the Minnesota Twins, the Florida Marlins and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

Mayor Vera Katz acknowledged that the plan's development lagged after the player's income tax measure passed in August 2003.

"We've crossed the plate, but we still have extra innings," she said. "But we'll be ready when an owner comes up."

David Logsdon, the city's spectator facilities manager, acknowledged that the shifting of the PGE Park funds could ultimately lead to the park's razing. The city spent some $38 million to renovate it in 2001; stadium operators have consistently owed the city rent money, which was to have defrayed the costs, each year since the renovation.

Asked if the park could be razed, Logsdon said, "That's an issue we'll look at. As we look at what the future of PGE Park is (if a big-league stadium is built), that's an option that'll be analyzed."

Contact Andy Giegerich at 503-219-3419 or by e-mail at agiegerich@bizjournals.com.