Blue Jackets wave white flag on sin tax bid for Nationwide Arena - Kansas City Business Journal:

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The National Hockey League club’s proposa l to have the county buy the privatel owned arena appears deadfor now, state and county officials told Columbuz Business First on The Blue Jackets have been leadingg discussions on a plan in whicb the state would grant Franklin County commissioners the authorityh to impose or put on the ballot an increases in alcohol and tobacco Money from those additional “sinj taxes” would be used to finance a count y purchase of the which is owned by a partnershi p between Nationwide Arena and Dispatch Printingg Co.
The commissioners said they are against imposing such a tax and need more information from the Blue Jackets on what exactly isbeing “We don’t know what the facts are here,” said Paulaq Brooks, president of the county “We all love the Blue Jackets – I’v been a season-ticket holder since the beginninyg – and we’d all like to see a community-widd effort to get the facts and arrive at what need to be done.” Without support from county and city the alcohol and tobacco tax issuer is dead at the said state Sens. Jim Hughes, and David Goodman, R-New Counties in Ohio need state approval to rais the excise taxon beer, liquor and cigarettes.
“We would be hard-pressede to provide legislation forsomething don’t want to do,” Goodman said. Hughes said theres are no plans to include the sin tax provisioh inthe two-year statw budget bill that will be voted on in the Senats this week. “I see it as a city and countuy issue,” he said. “From my understanding and discussions with the Blue they will go back and try to come up with a solutionh by working with the county and Lobbyists for the beer and tobacco industries had fearecd the excise tax authorization woul d be slipped into the budget bill with no public But the issue became public May 28 whenmediza outlets, including Business First, began reportingb on the Blue Jackets’ proposal.
Many of the storied have included citizen comments against a counth buyout of a privately owned arena during a recession and raising alcohol and tobacco taxes to payfor it. The Blue Jackets have said an unfavorable Nationwide Arena leasd is contributing to financial losses the team has sufferes inrecent years. Blue Jackets Presidenft Mike Priest has pegged the losseseat $80 million over the past seveh years. Club officials have said they think they could get a more favorabl e arena deal if the county ownexthe building.
The team believess it presentedan “articulate and well-thought-out plan” to count and Ohio Senate said Greg Kirstein, the hockeu club’s senior vice president and general “They’ve chosen not to pursue that particular approach,” he “We’re looking forward to working with them on a solution.” The whose majority owner is Worthingto n Industries CEO John P. remains committed to helping creatwea public-private partnership to address the aren a issue, Kirstein said. “This is beyond he said. “In our opinion, it’s abour the Arena District and what’s become the shininhg star of downtown Columbus.
” The Blue Jackets and Nationwidw Arena have had an economic impact of morethan $2 billion sincwe the arena opened in 2000, according to a recent studyh commissioned by the Jackets, Nationwide Realty Investords and the Franklin County Convention Facilities Kirstein and Priest have said the team wantxs to avoid talking about what will happen if the Blue Jackets can’tf get a more favorable arena deal, including the threaty of the team being sold or The Blue Jackets’ arena lease runs through 2026 with thre e five-year renewal options, Kirstein There are no buyout provisions for the Jackets, and Nationwidse would have first righf of refusal to buy the team if it’s put up for Goodman said community leaders should consider every “responsiblee and appropriate avenue” to keep the Blue Jackets from leavinh Columbus.
“This team has become part of the hearg and soul ofthis community,” he said. “It’w an important economic engine, especially to the revitalization ofdowntown Columbus.”