It's time to end the arena silliness

PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT
The Hon. George M. McKelvey, mayor of the city of Youngstown, has a check for $24 million for any developer, wealthy individual or public entity interested in building a 10,000-seat arena in the downtown area that would be used for sports and entertainment events and community gatherings.
McKelvey will be in his office in Youngstown City Hall at 8 a.m. -- or thereabouts -- Monday to seal the deal. However, the prospective recipient of all this public largess must meet a few minor requirements to get the check:
UThe developer, wealthy individual or public entity (a metropolitan park district, for example) will have to show proof of gap financing in the amount of at least $26 million.
UThe developer, wealthy individual or public entity (a consortium of rich suburban communities, for example) will have to sign an agreement accepting total and complete responsibility for the operation and maintenance of the facility, including paying all the bills, providing security and parking for hundreds of cars.
UThe developer, wealthy individual or public entity must sign a 10-year pact with the city of Youngstown that not only holds government harmless for the annual revenue shortfall that will occur, but pledges to maintain the arena in top-notch condition even if the project fails.
UThe developer, wealthy individual or public entity must understand that the city of Youngstown will commit no more than the $24 million, will not enact a special tax to help pay for the operation and maintenance of the facility and will not apply for federal or state grants to bail out the operator of the arena.
If you are interested, but are unable to visit Youngstown City Hall on Monday, you may call the mayor at (330) 747-8701.
REALITY
McKelvey should not cancel his morning golf date -- if he has one.
The time has come to stop trying to make the arena project work. It won't. The absence of a developer, wealthy individual or public entity rushing to take the $24 million the federal government has granted Youngstown for a civic center is proof positive that this is a losing proposition. The requirements established by the mayor, which represent good public policy, for accessing the $24 million are obviously impediments that put the project in its proper perspective. Arenas lose money, which is why the private sector expects governments to build them.
Successful businesses, such as multinational media companies, do not become successful investing in losing propositions. Those governments that have bought into the idea that arenas are good economic development tools are having to go to the voters to generate revenue to pay off the ever-growing debt.
Youngstown cannot and must not go down this route. And McKelvey, to his credit, has made it clear that keeping neighborhoods safe, eliminating blight and attracting business and industry to the city are priorities. Having an arena in which ice hockey, arena football and rock concerts would be held is not what Youngstown should be spending $24 million on, unless there is a major infusion of private dollars and the city is spared any future financial liabilities for the project.
To those who keep insisting that an arena between the Market Street and South Avenue bridges is exactly what Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley needs, here's a challenge: Show us the money.
Indeed, the city is prepared to give the land to any developer who comes to city hall with checkbook in hand. None has, so far, and none will. That's because even with all the public dollars invested in the project -- the federal government approved $26.8 million for the civic center, but some money has been spent buying the land and paying consultants and lawyers -- it won't generate enough revenue each year to meet the operation and maintenance costs.
It is time to end the silliness. The project was dead on arrival the moment wealthy individuals in the Mahoning Valley held on to their wallets -- but were eager to take control of the facility if government footed the entire bill.
The federal grant should be used to build a true community center with a children's museum as its focal point. As has been argued in this space in recent weeks, such a museum would give the city the opportunity to come up with a uniquely designed building that would gain national attention and would provide children, especially those from the inner city, with an interactive cultural environment.
It might even pique the interest of some adults, just as the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao, Spain, has become a gathering place for the peasants.