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Monday, October 6, 1997
New arena deal calls for razing 18-year-old
Reunion Arena
DALLAS (AP) - The deal to build a $230 million basketball and
hockey arena in downtown Dallas calls for the current arena to
be torn down a year after its replacement opens.
The new arena deal was announced Friday with the city offering
$110 million for the arena and up to $15 million in infrastructure.
The teams will put up $105 million for the new building and will
be responsible for cost overruns.
Don Hicks, who owns the Dallas Stars, and Ross Perot Jr., who
owns the Dallas Mavericks, want a new facility with luxury suites
that will generate more revenue. The exact site has yet to be
determined.
But the demolition of Reunion Arena, on which the city still
owes about $28 million, could draw extra public resistance to
the new arena deal.
"You mean to tell me a building 18 years old can't be
reconstituted for some use or another?" former City Council
member Jerry Bartos told The Dallas Morning News. "Seems
stupid. They'd never do it in the private sector."
According to the letter of intent between the teams and the
city, razing of Reunion Arena is certain. The only question is
whether the city or the teams will bear the cost. The teams will
pay only if Lot E, a parking lot between Reunion Arena and the
Dallas Convention Center, is chosen for the new facility.
Mayor Ron Kirk has set a special City Council meeting for Monday
to consider the arena deal. A council vote is scheduled on Wednesday.
The council vote will be on a resolution setting the stage
for the Jan. 17 referendum on the financing plan that will include
higher tourist taxes.
The city plans to boost car rental tax 5 percentage points
and the hotel room tax 2 percentage points. That would raise about
$11.3 million a year. Send
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Copyright ©1997,
Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications
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