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Minority firms pitch in on new stadiums Local leaders vow they will share work on the new stadiums Wednesday, January 13, 1999 By Tom Barnes, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
Black-owned construction and demolition firms should get 25 percent of the millions of dollars in work needed to build two sports stadiums, Pittsburgh and Allegheny County officials told state legislators yesterday.
Testifying at a hearing held by the House Democratic Stadium Task Force, Commissioner Mike Dawida, county Development Director Mulugetta Birru and Public Auditorium Authority Director Stephen Leeper all vowed to give black-owned firms one-quarter of the work in clearing two sites on the North Side for stadiums and then building the facilities.
They also pledged that woman-owned firms would get 10 percent of the work. The baseball stadium project is estimated to cost $228 million and the football stadium $233 million.
"Everybody needs to share in this development and prosperity," Dawida said. "Inclusion is critical."
"Inclusion (of black- and woman-owned firms) in all aspects of the development process is a burning issue," said Birru, who also heads the city Urban Redevelopment Authority.
"I admit we have a way to go yet,[but] we will comply with those goals in all phases of development of Plan B."
Plan B is the $809 million city-county proposal to build the stadiums, do a $300 million expansion of the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, pay off the $40 million debt on Three Rivers Stadium and demolish it.
If the state Legislature agrees in February to provide up to $80 million for each stadium, construction is to get under way by April 1 on the baseball park and June 1 on the Steelers stadium.
Leeper, who is in charge of buying stadium sites and razing the existing buildings, said Clarence Curry, former head of the city's Minority Business Enterprise Review Committee, is heading the effort to ensure that minority-owned firms get construction work.
Leeper said he is working with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the African-American Chamber of Commerce and the Black Contractors Association on all aspects of site preparation, so they know opportunities are available.
The hearing yesterday was led by two Democratic members of the state House black caucus, Rep. William Robinson of the Hill District and Rep. Andrew Carn of Philadelphia. They have demanded participation by black- and women-owned firms in the stadium construction projects here and in Philadelphia.
Robinson and Carn have already introduced legislation aimed at ensuring "community benefits" from the new stadiums, including jobs for their constituents and low-priced or free tickets to stadium events for residents of the host cities.
Carn wants construction projects to be done by non-union firms, but Robinson said that probably wasn't possible, given the political strength of labor unions. But Robinson said unions must ensure adequate training and apprenticeship programs for new laborers.
Robinson and Carn want the public to have a voice in the sales of stadium naming rights to a private buyer. The $30 million, 30-year deal to name the new baseball stadium "PNC Park" was between the Pirates and PNC Corp.
Robinson and Carn also want "taxpayer protection" clauses, meaning the teams would owe substantial penalties if they break the proposed 291/2-year leases at the new stadiums.
Leeper said that a "break-up fee" could be as high as $140 million, to repay the state, city and county for tax funds that go into the stadiums.
Gov. Ridge, Mayor Murphy, Dawida and Commissioner Bob Cranmer have been seeking at least 102 votes in the state House to increase the state debt ceiling by about $325 million to allow for state funding toward the four new stadiums.
Ridge has said he is hoping for a House vote no later than Feb. 10, but Robinson said yesterday the House may not be ready by then.
Robinson and Carn have been reluctant to vote for the debt limit increase without assurances that their concerns are addressed by Ridge.
State Rep. Don Walko, D-North Side, who also was at the hearing, said Ridge may seek to increase the state debt ceiling by as much as $700 million, to provide additional funds for projects in many other cities around the state.
"That will go a long way toward convincing reluctant representatives (from other areas of the state) to increase the debt ceiling so there will be more capital investment in their areas," said Walko, a supporter of state aid for Plan B projects.
Also attending yesterday's hearing at the Community College of Allegheny County on the North Side were several opponents of state funding for stadiums, including Commissioner Larry Dunn, former commissioners candidates Leroy Hodge and Gary English and George Kelly, a North Side resident.
Kelly said the Pirates and Steelers should sell shares of stock to the public as a way to raise funds for stadiums. "They should go to Wall Street instead of Grant Street," he said.
But Pirates Vice President Steve Greenberg said there doesn't seem to be interest by large institutional investors in buying stock in the team.
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