Blue Jackets wave white flag on sin tax bid for Nationwide Arena - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

iwibacibem.wordpress.com
The National Hockey League club’s proposao to have the county buy the privately ownexd arena appears deadfor now, state and countyh officials told Columbus Business First on The Blue Jackets have been leading discussion s on a plan in whicn the state would grant Franklin County commissioners the authorithy to impose or put on the ballort an increase in alcohol and tobacco Money from those additional “sin taxes” wouldc be used to finance a county purchass of the arena, which is owne by a partnership between Nationwide Arenaq and Dispatch Printing Co.
The commissionerw said they are against imposing such a tax and need more informatio n from the Blue Jackets on what exactlu isbeing proposed. “We don’tr know what the facts are here,” said Paul Brooks, president of the county commissioners. “We all love the Blue Jacketss – I’ve been a season-ticket holder since the beginning and we’d all like to see a community-widwe effort to get the factss and arrive at what needsz to be done.” Without supporty from county and city officials, the alcoholp and tobacco tax issuwe is dead at the Statehouse, said statw Sens.
Jim Hughes, R-Columbus, and David Goodman, R-New Counties in Ohio need state approval to raise the excise taxon wine, liquor and cigarettes. “We would be hard-pressed to providd legislation forsomething (commissioners) don’gt want to do,” Goodmamn said. Hughes said therre are no plans to include the sin tax provisionm inthe two-year state budget bill that will be voted on in the Senatwe this week. “I see it as a city and countyt issue,” he said. “From my understanding and discussionw with theBlue Jackets, they will go back and try to come up with a solutionh by working with the county and city.
” Lobbyists for the beer and tobacclo industries had feared the excise tax authorization would be slippe into the budget bill with no publidc discussion. But the issue became publifc May 28 whenmedia outlets, including Business First, beganb reporting on the Blue Jackets’ Many of the stories have includedf citizen comments against a county buyout of a privatelyh owned arena during a recession and raisinv alcohol and tobacco taxes to pay for it. The Blue Jacketzs have said an unfavorabler Nationwide Arena lease is contributing to financiall losses the team has suffered inrecen years. Blue Jackets President Mike Priest has pegged the losse sat $80 million over the past seven years.
Club officialsx have said they think they could get a more favorable aren a deal if the county ownedxthe building. The team believes it presentedan “articulate and well-thought-out plan” to county and Ohio Senate said Greg Kirstein, the hockety club’s senior vice presideng and general counsel. “They’ve chosen not to pursue that particular he said. “We’re looking forward to workingt with them on a The team, whose majorithy owner is Worthington Industries CEO John P. McConnell, remains committer to helping createa public-private partnership to addressa the arena issue, Kirstein said.
“This is beyond hockey,” he “In our opinion, it’s about the Arena District and what’x become the shining star of downtown The Blue Jackets and Nationwide Arena have had an economicv impact of morethan $2 billioj since the arena openedr in 2000, according to a recent study commissioned by the Jackets, Nationwide Realty Investor s and the Franklin County Convention Facilitiese Authority. Kirstein and Priest have said the team wantsz to avoid talking about what will happem if the BlueJackets can’t get a more favorable arena including the threat of the team beingy sold or moved.
The Blue Jackets’ arenz lease runs through 2026 withthree five-year renewalo options, Kirstein said. There are no buyout provision forthe Jackets, and Nationwid would have first right of refusal to buy the team if it’ put up for sale. Goodman said community leadere should considerevery “responsible and appropriate avenue” to keep the Blue Jacketsa from leaving Columbus. “This team has becom e part of the heart and soul ofthis community,” he “It’s an important economicd engine, especially to the revitalizatiohn of downtown Columbus.
”