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| I can not believe that people are buying this. |
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| This week it was announced that the Greensboro Coliseum has been awarded the Men's ACC Basketball Tournament through Matt Brown's final years as a City Employee - assuming that he will gracefully retire with 20 years of "service" to the city. The coliseum also locked in the Women's Basketball Tourneyment for the immediate future - a no brainer for either the coliseum or the ACC because it has room to grow in Greensboro. As many will admit, this is a great honor for the city; however, the Bill is coming due. The city already provides around $14 Million a YEAR in bond payments and operating short-falls to have this facility. You have to search the city budget to see all the various bonds that are being paid off that have benefited the coliseum. The operating losses are in the $2 million range (un-audited). This year, we are being asked to add another $36 Million to add 225 seats to the auditorium, as well as some other improvements. As one person pointed out early in the Coliseum Bond process, their church built a larger performance facility for 1/3 the cost of the coliseum's proposal. Now, Matt Brown is saying that he will come back and ask for another $20 Million. That's $56 Million before the ink is wet on the ACC Tourneyment Contract. We have a antiquated facility - especially when you visit newer facilities in Raleigh and Charlotte. Greensboro can never make enough improvements to compete on equal ground. Now is the time to bail out. We have a facility with a good advance booking and national exposure. It's time to revisit Matt Brown's proposal to take the facility private. That will take it off the public expenses and place it on the tax rolls. It will also give us better drawing power as the coliseum will be free to negotiate as other private facilities - freed from the constraints of government. | ||
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