Kicking the Can on the Pensacola Civic Center.....

How long will the county kick the can on the Pensacola Civic Center Issue?

Six years ago, there was a push among some Escambia County Commissioners and some members of the community to undertake a renovation project at the Pensacola Civic Center.  This multi-million dollar project would have extended the useful lifespan of that facility by a couple of decades.  SMG was consulted, they worked together with the BCC, a scope of work was identified, but no vote ever happened.  The proverbial can got kicked down the road...

Fast forward to last year, and an innovative triumph fund application was made, with the support of multiple local non-profits and representatives from the destination marketing organization (DMO)--and this resulted in a plan to finance the construction of a brand-new arena and field house project that would act as a replacement for the Pensacola Civic Center-a project that could potentially be financed, built, and operated for 30 years while utilizing no general fund dollars and no local option sales tax dollars.  The BCC sent this proposal to triumph, we got behind this project, because this would be a great project if it could be done.

Fast forward to last week and now as the Triumph selections process moves forward--once again the board was asked --yet failed-- to make a critical decision.

The decision was simple:

-sign a very scaled-down and County-friendly Letter of Intent (that offered the county multiple ways out of the deal if the County was not completely satisfied with the final chosen location, the financing, or any other reason for that matter) with the group who brought the proposal--and for this act of good will this group would continue the work to bring a viable location for this plan.  But the board had no appetite to act.  "We need to know the exact location first"  was stated at the meeting.  And no vote happened.  The can got kicked down the road again.

Most everyone now knows that a downtown location will not work--as such a location will not be eligible for New Market Tax Credits (NMTCs) that will add as much as $20 Million into the $80 Million dollar project. 

So if the project location is downtown, I don't believe it is feasible without the 5th cent being levied.

....And several commissioners have stated their staunch opposition to the levy of the 5th cent on the hotel tax  "no matter what."

So as I see it, only one of three things will happen going forward.  And I believe one of these three will move forward as "the plan" over the next several months--because I'm going to press this issue:

1.  A location not in downtown but in an economically challenged area (qualifying for NMTCs) will



 be selected and voted upon by the board to move this project forward.  (could pass by a 3-2 depending on the exact location--maybe--but it  could just as easily fail by a 3-2...)

2.  A location in downtown could be selected, but without a commitment to levy the 5th cent I would be out in terms of support (unless the city or state or someone else made up the $20 Million shortfall over the 30 years of the financing agreement--not likely) and this would be a tough vote...It would probably fail 3-2.

3.  If neither of the above comes to pass and Triumph Gulf Coast grows weary of our indecisiveness and throws our application into the shredder--I'll bring a project to spend $20 Million on renovating the Civic Center to give it another 20 years.  "20 for 20"  New energy-efficient heating and cooling systems, new high-efficiency lighting, renovated exterior, new seats, renovated interior and  restrooms and concession areas, renovated locker rooms, renovated/expanded conference areas new ice plant, new exterior video marquee, new video scoreboard, and whatever else is necessary to extend this facility's useful lifespan for a minimum of 20 years--perhaps even solar arrays on the roof to help defray the massive utility bills at the civic center.  To fund these renovations, I'll suggest a bond issue, with a 20-year repayment term, to be paid EXCLUSIVELY by bed-tax revenues.  According to sources I have consulted, this could be done for about $1.5 Million a year for 20 years out of the bed-tax proceeds.

One way or another, we need to solve this issue, provide a venue for community events and an excellent quality of life for our residents, and do it while not utilizing general fund revenues or Local Option Sales Tax revenues.  We are already spending $1.5 Million yearly on the civic center from the bed tax--yet there are apparently those that don't want to parlay that amount of money into a new facility.  So we will now check the board's appetite for spending the same amount we currently spend for a renovated facility.  One way or another, we need to solve this issue and move forward with other pressing matters.  We need to quit kicking the can, we are running out of road.