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A Few Clouds and Breezy Fate of Coliseum decided Aug. 1
$400 million bond to be voted by residents
On Monday, Nassau County residents will vote on a $400 million bond referendum to build a new Coliseum and a minor league ballpark.
The plan, which was first outlined to the public at a press conference held by County Executive Edward Mangano and Islanders Owner Charles Wang on June 22, calls for $350 million of the bond to be spent on a new Coliseum, with the remainder going to the construction of the ballpark. According to the lease the county signed with the Islanders, the team would lease the Coliseum from the county for 30 years, starting when the county’s current lease with MSG and the Islanders expires in 2015.
During that time, the county would get 11.5 percent of all money earned by the Coliseum through a revenue-sharing plan, which includes ticket, concession-stand and merchandise sales — everything except television contracts.
“This is a giant step forward for Nassau’s economy,” Mangano said at the press conference. “We’re once again becoming job-generating, and maintaining the quality of life we’ve become accustomed to by having a Coliseum here in Nassau County.”
According to Mangano, over the 30 years of the agreement, the new arena would generate $1.2 billion in revenue, and the revenue-sharing would pay the estimated $26 million-per-year debt service. By the end, Mangano said, the project should generate $403 million in surplus revenue for the county. The numbers come from an independent report compiled by Camoin Associates on behalf of the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency.
The debt service, however, would be borne by taxpayers. The bond would create a new tax line on residents’ property tax bills. Estimates of the average homeowner’s increase in taxes for the project vary from the original estimate of $58 a year to the most recent estimate of less than $14. Mangano said that the cost would be neutralized by the revenue coming in from the new arena.
The Camoin report also said that the new arena would be a catalyst for job creation in the county. The report stated that 1,515 temporary construction jobs would be created by the project, which in turn would bring in an estimated $848,000 in tax revenue.
