No matter how you look at it, the EC did not finish in the black. Even if you add the $2.1 million with the tax revenue, you still come about $6 million short on the mortgage, that gets sucked out of our 2nd penny (meant for roads and infrastructure, not mortgage payments on play things).
Net operating income, which is revenue minus expenses, came in at $2,145,904 for the venue. Attendance increased by about 25,000 over the previous year to 671,098.
Besides the fact that the center can’t even cover a 3rd of the mortgage each year, I found this little tidbit a bit alarming;
The venue also wrote a check for almost $1.9 million for sales tax from the entire complex and Orpheum Theater Center. Of that amount, $1.5 million came from the Premier Center.
Now let’s assume that is total taxes (state + city + entertainment, 7.5%), that means the EC had about $20 million in sales last year! $20 million! and they only had $2.1 million left over after paying for operations? Where the F’CK is the money going? How big of a cut is the promoters, SMG and Ovations taking? And is that money staying in our community? Most likely NOT!
I told people before the vote, this venue is being built to make promoters, contractors and SMG a lot of money while we are stuck with the mortgage payment.
The irony of all this is that the mayor announced today he would not sign the Glory House resolution, and made some absurd statement about the city giving to non-profits.
Giving away a very valuable and useful City asset to any organization, even a nonprofit organization, is setting a very bad precedent for Sioux Falls City government, and I will not support it.
I wonder if that means we will get our $500K back from the Huether Tennis Center, or $2 million back from the Development Foundation, or monies back from Children’s Inn, Compass Center and Bishop Dudley house?