Shelby County mayor Jim Rout is the most effective and
enthusiastic public proponent of the new arena.
Is that good news? After all, Rout, by his own decision, is leaving office
later this year, a full two years before the new arena is scheduled to open. But give
him this. It looks like he intends to run all the way to the finish line.
He did it again Monday, facing a roomful of skeptical county
commissioners and helping to derail a proposal to hire more financial consultants.
A smile on his face as usual, Rout deftly worked the room with a
handshake for everyone. He sat down at a table opposite the commissioners, fielding
some questions himself, passing others off to various experts. He promised to make
everything public. He apologized for commissioners being scooped by
The Commercial Appeal on some Public
Building Authority (PBA) news last month.
He noted the stellar play of Grizzlies rookies Pau Gasol and Shane Battier
and some recent favorable national publicity about Memphis and the team.
And he said the revenue projections for the arena are on target. There is
no fence-straddling by Rout on this one. Along with Mayor Willie
Herenton, Rout seems to be one of the few public officials who is a genuine fan of both
the team and the arena. Unlike Herenton,
there is no defensiveness about his pitch, no edge to it, no digs at “naysayers” or arena
critics like Commissioner Walter Bailey.
Rout is an exclamation point in the middle of a bunch of question marks.
On the commission, Bailey seems likely to vote against issuing the
bonds. Michael Hooks complained about “lousy” marketing by the Grizzlies
and noted a few consistently empty sky boxes and thousands of empty seats. Nobody
else on the commission seemed particularly enthusiastic or particularly skeptical.
There were no testimonials and no rants. Zoning permits have aroused more passion.
In a quarter century in county government, this could be Rout’s last
starring role. He answered many of the questions about the arena raised in
various quarters last week, or he referred them to someone else who answered them
— consultant Marlin Mosby, Finance Director John Trusty, or Don Smith of
the PBA.
Rental-car revenue is ahead of projections because of huge demand last
September, when the airlines shut down.
Downtown Tourism Development Zone revenues are building up a nice
little surplus because the arena gets the tax increment above a low base year.
Rout met with the governor last week and $20 million in state
assistance (or possibly federal funds funneled through the state department of
transportation) should be locked in within a week or two. The General
Assembly does not have to approve it.
The $20 million in privately backed bonds will be placed.
And there will be some sort of substitute for the defunct season-ticket
guarantee by private businesses.
“They are understanding that they
must bring some sort of alternative,” said Rout.
One question Rout could not answer is the percentage of the team that
is Memphis-owned. He said it is between roughly 30 and 49 percent.
Michael Heisley is the majority owner. But Rout deflected concerns about the team
moving from Memphis by citing contractual provisions locking the Grizzlies in for 13
years and forcing them to pay off millions of dollars in bonds if they move after that.
State Sen. John Ford made a cameo appearance at the meeting to assure
one and all that the PBA is alive and well and perfectly capable of providing
scrutiny and oversight. Shelby County mayoral candidate A C Wharton came in
briefly and sat and watched. The arena could be his baby after Rout leaves.
Commissioner Tommy Hart broached the $250 million hanging
question, asking what would happen to the contracts signed so far “assuming it
does not go forward.” Smith said the $17 million in contracts could be
canceled. That was as far as that line of inquiry went, although privately, one
county official suggested paying the Grizzlies the difference in revenue
projections for the new arena and The Pyramid and not building anything.
The critical date for the commission to give final approval is April 8th.
At the rate they’re going, the Grizzlies will be down to six healthy players
by then. The team, which has won 15 games, fielded eight healthy bodies
this week. Help is not necessarily on the way. The Grizzlies owe a first-round
draft choice this year or next to the Detroit Pistons. NBA action regularly fills
only 12,500 seats at The Pyramid, which is far better than two other southern
cities, Charlotte and Atlanta.
In Atlanta on Sunday, sportswriter Mark Bradley of the
Journal-Constitution wrote, “As it is, the [Atlanta Hawks]
team draws nobody. The Marietta Blue Devils have a more passionate fan base.”
Under the circumstances, selling a new arena to Memphis to replace
The Pyramid, which has served it well for about $70 million, has been no small
accomplishment. On Tuesday it will be the city council’s turn to go through
the financials with the consultants and Mayor Herenton.
