Westfield's Grand Park Still Can't Pay It's Bills

[Muda69]

https://www.indystar.com/story/news/local/hamilton-county/westfield/2019/10/10/westfield-indiana-mayor-andy-cook-wants-use-food-beverage-tax-fund-grand-park-2020-budget/3832153002/   (Note: URL is behind a paywall)

 

Quote

Westfield Mayor Andy Cook wants to start using the city's food and beverage tax dollars to fund Grand Park operating expenditures, giving the sports campus moremoney to play with in 2020.

His general idea: Grand Park is responsible for much of the growth in the food and beverage sales across the city — at least according to his administration — so the complex and massive indoor sports center should reap the benefits.

But his request is also a reminder that revenue from the complex that opened in 2014 still isn't covering all of its own expenditures, even when leaving out debt payments, despite local officials' initial hopes that the park won'talways rely on taxpayer money.

Opponents of the measure also bring up that even before Grand Park opened, that food and beverage fund was raking in half a million dollars each year already. Since then it's doubled, but opponents argue the mayor is overstating the impact Grand Park has had on that fund.

...

Five years after Grand Park debuted, it's still one of Cook's most controversial accomplishments. His vision with the Grand Park plan, which in total will end up costing more than $100 million with interest and debt payments, was to make Westfield a youth sports destination, helping drive and diversify the economy.

In a win for Cook, the Colts moved their training camp to the complex in 2018, creating more hype around the complex and helping secure its spot as a tourism destination in Hamilton County. The Colts are paying Westfield $653,000 a year for 10 years.

But the sports complex's ability to pay for itself is still an open question.

...

Linda Naas, a Westfield resident, and Marla Ailor, who lives next to Westfield in unincorporated Hamilton County, emphasized that Grand Park wasn't the sole reason there is money in the food and beverage fund. 

"The people of this community who spend their money 52 weeks per year are the ones that should be rewarded for the accumulation of the tax,” said Ailor, who shops and dines in Westfield and therefore pays the tax. 

Naas asked, "what's the return on investment?"

In 2019, Grand Park only used around $400,000 from the general fund to pay operating expenses. Under Cook's proposed funding mechanism, the complex is poised to get more than double that in order to help cover operating costs in 2020, according to budget documents. In 2020, that money is budgeted for asphalt, equipment and other supplies and services.

The budget most be approved by City Council by Nov. 1 and is up for consideration at the council's Oct. 14 meeting. City administration will also present a Grand Park update detailing financials.

Yet another athletic boondoggle foisted on the taxpayers.   Sickening.

 

 

[Impartial_Observer]

My daughter played a couple of fall college events at Grand Park. It's not very user friendly. Fortunately we did find a golf cart to get my parents too and from the field from the parking area. The costs of this thing has been dissected enough. I still maintain there is no way this enterprise would fly if it were privately owned. I have looked at building multi-use athletic facilities, I've put pencil to paper with a GC, I could NOT make the numbers work. Granted I'm half way between Indy and Louisville, not near a major metro area. Even at that, Hamilton County is not the easiest area to navigate. 

The question that begs to be answered, is the facility bringing in enough money to the local economy to make up for the operating expenses. We (ICGSA) have had to change dates twice for our Softball All-Star game, due to hotel space because of events at Grand Park. We typically take about 35 rooms for players, coaches, and staff, I have no idea where parents stay. We eventually moved the venue from Carmel HS to IU.  

Edited October 10, 2019 by Impartial_Observer

[Muda69]

59 minutes ago, Impartial_Observer said:

 I still maintain there is no way this enterprise would fly if it were privately owned. I have looked at building multi-use athletic facilities, I've put pencil to paper with a GC, I could NOT make the numbers work.

Then perhaps it shouldn't have been built in the first place.   Using taxpayer funds as the impetus  to "make numbers work" is bad government.

 

 

[Impartial_Observer]

42 minutes ago, Muda69 said:

Then perhaps it shouldn't have been built in the first place.   Using taxpayer funds as the impetus  to "make numbers work" is bad government.

 

 

That ship has sailed, cussed and discussed on this very forum ad nauseum. I don't necessarily have a problem with it operating in small red numbers, provided you're getting a payback on the back end. That number is hard to determine though. 

[Muda69]

The City of Westfield should parcel out the current Grand Park to private developers, a piece at a time.    Remove the burden from it's taxpayers.