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Gov. Ridge encouraged by Plan B negotiations Eager to close deal for stadiums, other regional projects Tuesday, January 27, 1998 By Peter J. Shelly, Post-Gazette Harrisburg Correspondent
HARRISBURG -- The man who holds the state's purse strings is encouraged by the latest negotiations to produce a financing plan for a new Pirates baseball stadium, an expanded Downtown Pittsburgh convention center and a new or renovated home for the Steelers.
So much so that he wants to help close the deal.
"We want to find ways to help them get the deal done," Gov. Ridge said in an interview yesterday afternoon. He was referring to confirmation Thursday from Allegheny County Commissioner Mike Dawida and Pittsburgh City Council President Bob O'Connor that a financing proposal might be ready as early as next week.
"They're to be commended for coming up with an alternative plan," Ridge said of those negotiations, which also include the Pirates and the Steelers organizations as well as state officials.
"I haven't seen the numbers yet, and I want to take a look at what they are proposing," the governor said. "But I think this is a very significant step."
Since details of the proposal began to emerge last week, Ridge has asked his staff to start analyzing the costs of renovating and expanding the city's David L. Lawrence Convention Center -- a project that Ridge called a "top priority for the (southwestern Pennsylvania) region."
He said the administration might pay 50 percent of the cost for that construction, which is expected to be at least $262 million.
"We're starting to work the convention center up ourselves," the governor said. "I want to take a look at the figures and see what they are proposing, but we haven't ruled (paying half) out."
The funding arrangement outlined by Dawida calls for selling bonds, personal seat licenses, surcharges on Steelers and Pirates game tickets, contributions from the teams and money from the county's existing hotel-motel room tax as well as its Regional Asset District tax.
But the state's participation has always been a major piece of the puzzle.
Ridge has said repeatedly that the administration would pay for as much as a third of the stadium costs, and he reiterated that position yesterday. But he emphasized that the one-third was a threshold, and the actual state share might be less than that.
The governor cited the lucrative television contract that the National Football League won this month, a share of which will accrue to each NFL team. "You see that new television deal for football, and it . . . just knocks the wind out of you," he said. "There is so much money going into professional sports these days."
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