Tuesday, February 15, 2011
The Redevelopment Authority declares the project not financially viable due to insufficient funds.
The West Chester Redevelopment Authority officially reported its findings about the proposal to build a baseball stadium in the borough. At the last meeting of the Redevelopment Authority, president Glen Sweet declared that the project was not financially viable. According to Sweet, if the borough were to go through with the project the stadium would lose the borough close to $93,000 every year. Here is a rundown of the Authority’s findings. Sweet also recommended that the borough charge the Redevelopment Authority with creating a comprehensive plan for the proposed stadium site. “This would give the borough a frame of reference for when the next proposal comes along,” Sweet said. “It’s a large tract of land in an attractive location.”
Monday, February 7, 2011
The proposal to build a baseball stadium has a $14 million shortfall without state subsidies.
The West Chester Redevelopment Authority will tell borough council at its next meeting that the current proposal to build a baseball stadium is not financially viable. “There is a $14 million shortfall in this proposal,” said authority president Glen Sweet. “The numbers just don’t work.” A huge chunk of the cost for the construction of the stadium was supposed to be covered by a subsidy from the state. However, that money is no longer available. “We need to find new ways to subsidize the construction costs,” Sweet said. “The proposal needs to be restructured.” Sweet also added that there was no firm proposal from Pfizer, who owns the land the stadium would be built on, and that the current proposal makes too many assumptions. “Part of …
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
The Redevelopment Authority continues to find more questions than answers.
The West Chester Redevelopment Authority seems to be finding more questions than answers as it investigates a proposal before council to begin construction on a baseball stadium in the borough. “There are a lot of balloons floating this thing,” said Jason Birl, an architect on the authority. “And it seems to me the more we investigate this the more balloons we pop.” Architect Alan Adler said that at this point in the process it’s impossible to nail down exact numbers. “All the revenues in the study represent one possible example,” Adler said. “They’re just examples that need to be proven.” Adler added, “We need this to move to the next step. There’s momentum building and if we can move forward we can turn things into real answers.” …
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
The proposal calls for a $20 million matching subsidy from the sate through the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program.
The West Chester Redevelopment Authority made plans on Jan. 3, to assess the financial viability of a proposed $40 million baseball stadium project to be constructed on the south end of town. Part of the proposal calls for a state subsidy that would cover half of the projected construction costs. Through the state's Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program, the plan would become eligible to receive up to $20 million dollars in matching funds. In order to receive this funding, a proposal must "clearly demonstrate significant potential for improving economic growth and creating jobs." Besides that, the organization seeking RACP dollars must also match monies received from the state. Currently, the borough is asking for $20 million in …
Monday, January 3, 2011
The Redevelopment Authority plans how to verify the numbers proposed by a group hoping to build a baseball stadium in West Chester.
The West Chester Redevelopment Authority set a timeline for completing its revue of the proposed baseball stadium plan on Monday, Jan. 3. The Redevelopment Authority will hold two more meetings to discuss their findings before presenting its report to borough council at the February monthly meeting. The council made up of a lawyer, architect, city planner, accountant and civil engineer will spend the next few weeks verifying the numbers and figures submitted to them by the group supporting the construction of a baseball stadium on the south end of town. Among the items that concerned the Redevelopment Authority the most were the legality of a 15 percent tax levied on ticket sales, the cost of managing the facility and state funding. In …
Nathaniel Smith
4:44 pm on Tuesday, February 8, 2011
I agree, alternative energy would be good there (like the solar field at the Paoli rail yard). And as pointed out last eve, the proximity of rail service is a plus for many potential uses. Actually, because no money at all is available from any source, the stadium idea currently has a shortfall of the entire proposed $27,289,760--and now even more because of about $350,000 a year in increased … more ›