I voted aginst the Arena

and now that I have thought about it, I am going to join up with Don Reid to try and stop City Council from using my hard earned tax dollar to fund a Billionaire that is gonna pay his employees millions just because they were born tall.
Let him build his own office.

 

boooooo you putt. with out a uptown arena this city is very boaring city it you to be a city like NYC and that what charlotte try to be you have to have a arean

 

Putt when you see your new buddy Don tell him wossa says to fuck off.

thanks in advance

 

Putt: The lawsuit won't work . . . the referendum was non-binding . . . . The City Council wasn't bound to the decision of the voters . . . We could've easily said YES and the city still wouldn't have built it . . . . Don Reid is just being a sore loser and needs to get his name in the press again just to feel important again . . . I wish he would just move out to some remote part of the country where the taxes are dirt cheap and there isn't any sprawl . . . I'm sure this will be the only way he will ever be happy . . .

 

Putt- you have the right to your opinion, i respect that. but to side with a man who misconstrues every detail to make his case sound formidable does not scream credibility. the arena project will serve as a catalyst for future uptown development and emergence- the hotel industry, convention bureau and many citizens as myself all see the intangibles that an arena brings to the table in the new economy. the downtown arena allows for synergy of resources to be fully extended- transit, lodging, entertainment, hospitality all within footsteps. the arena deal is 99.9% funded by tourists in the hotel/motel tax, and a $100 million underwriting of the arena by wachovia-bofa-duke in exchange for city owned land that will know be placed on the city AND county tax rolls. this was, most likely, our last legitimate chance in the near future to build an arena WITH a major tenant that is responsible for all costs and expenses associated with the building. yes, they will recieve the profit- but, they will cover the cost. the 20 year lease is pro-rated with the arena value, so there is a big penalty for breaking the lease. yes, the NBA is not in great form right now- but this provides people like myself another reason to stay in this city: entertainment and a more vibrant community. i'll feel proud when we tip off in the arena in 2005- i hope you'll be there too.

 

the arena deal is 99.9% funded by tourists in the hotel/motel tax, and a $100 million underwriting of the arena by wachovia-bofa-duke in exchange for city owned land that will know be placed on the city AND county tax rolls.

Get real !!!

 

Putt do you live in a hotel or drive rental cars on a constant basis? If not-it's not your tax money.

Hotel/Motel tax is being used plus the 100 million from the big 3.

If the new arnea wasn't being built-then your taxes would be raised to operate the old coliseum without a tenant(it's a sinking ship)

How can anyone be oppossed to something that is so positive for the city and cost nothing of the tax payers?

Why is Reid defending the poor voters on the arena but has said nothing negative about the on going negotiations to build the AAA baseball park? 57% said NO to that too right?

 

How can anyone be oppossed to something that is so positive for the city and cost nothing of the tax payers?

It's already cost me some tax money. Who do you think paid for it to be put on the ballot just to be ignored when voted down? I was just messing around but don't anybody ever be naieve enough to think that the tax payers don't pay. If it's such a great deal then why don't a man that has billions build his own place? Why does he need my money and when they use hotel-motel tax then they are using money that could have and would have been spent at local businesses. That tax money has never been ear-marked to fund private businesses. Does the city council have a right to dip into it for funding of private enterprise ? No--Will they? Yes--Is it legal? Time will tell
I really don't care about the arena but I voted against the whole package. There were things on that referendum that didn't smell right. Business is business and tax money--other than tax break incentives--should never be used to fund private businesses.
I don't care for Don Reid and personally wouldn't give him the time of day but he has a point on this one and as much as I hate it, he makes a lot of sense. To go against the will of the majority is basically saying "Fuck y'all, we will do what we want" That is a bad precedent to set and can come back to haunt you. I think what the man is saying is "You might use tax money to build an arena for a private business but you damn sure ain't gonna make me think I don't know what you up to"
Y'all can holler hotel-motel tax all you want but it all comes back to the tax-payers. It trickles down in some way, shape or fashion.

 

It's not funding a private business- it's investing in our own city.

Without the arena Charlotte will keep getting passed over for tournaments like the CiAA that went to Raleigh this year instead of Charlotte. That means that all those hotels and restaurants reaped the benefits that would/should/could have been ours.

Charlotte hasn't even built the new arena and we are already putting in a bid for the NCAA womens tourney(mens have to be in a 30k plus venue now). That's money into our economy that wouldn't be possible without the arena.

The ACC tourney will come to Charlotte more often with the new arena. That's more money into our economy.

Without the arena Charlotte will keep getting passed over for numerous events and lose out on alot more than the 250-300 million it's gonna cost to build the damn thing.

The NBA All-Star game is another money maker that wouldn't be possible without the new arena.

The old arena more than paid for itself with the money the events earned for our city. I bet the two NCAa tourneys and the All-Star game alone earned enough to alone to justify the cost of construction. I magine the new arena will have the same type of impact.

 

I agree. It's socialism. If the business can't support itself, it's not a viable business.

It's a goddam shame.