The rumor has been swirling for awhile and the other day councilor Thomason said in the council presser that they could take in private donations. It is also no secret that for years Denny has been estate planning for when he bites the big one and there are a lot of folks at the grifting and feeding trough. The zoo could get up to $35 Million from him, for example (just no money for the dusty monkeys).
If Denny did donate $100 million and another $100 million came in private investment, the city could borrow the money on our current tax base, the problem is that would be a $20 million dollar bond payment for a very, very, very long time taking out of our 2nd penny.
I’m am still opposed to a taxpayer funded convention center or even an indoor rec center. Let a private company come in and provide the space. As I have said before private indoor rec centers are doing great and they are building more! I see the same in the convention business. Hotels and event centers are booked out for months. There is absolutely no reason the taxpayers of this city need to subsidize these things.