The Jackson Bandits announced on Friday that they would be suspending operations for the 2002-03 season. They say there will be no more hockey in Jackson unless a new stadium is built to meet their scheduling needs. And lawmakers are reluctent to build the stadium because there is no guarantee that attendence would pick up. Attendence has stedily dropped since the Jackson Bandits first season.
Previous Comments
I’d love to see the Bandits stay, but taxpayers have funded way too many stadiums around the country. There are much smarter ways we can invest in economic-development of local businesses and downtown.
#118017 | Author: ladd | Date: Apr 8 2003
I have a very simple solution to increase attendance: SELL BEER! What kind of sporting event does not have beer for the audience? Hell, you can go to tennis matches at Parham Bridges and have draft beer! Why not at a game of hockey? I know I stopped going because I would start “sobering up” mid-game and feel like I needed a bed or a beer to resolve the quasi-hangover feeling. Nothing like coming down from a nice beer or two with thousands screaming in your ears!
#118018 | Author: Knol Aust | Date: Apr 11 2003
The construction of the new Arena was never going to be funded by public dollars. From the outset this was a privately funded activity. The State and City did agree to guarantee some portion, not all, of the private bond debt required to build the Arena. Those guarantees would only trigger in the event of a default on the private debt. There was some downstream exposure that may have necessitated a requirement of public dollars but no public money was required up front and would never be required unless there was a default. The State portion of the debt guarantee would only be valid if the facility was fully complete. The State would not be liable in the event the private owners defaulted during the actual construction phase. As the plan faltered the Bandits owners lobbied the State and City to increase the size of their debt guarantees but, wisely, both entities understood the value of making sure the owners had significant private skin in the game and declined. The Legislature passed and the Governor signed legislation in the 2001 Regular Session to cover the State’s guarantee. I’m pretty sure the City’s portion of the guarantee never went beyond the talking stage and that Harvey Johnson never formally sought City Council approval, which would have been required, for same. As for the Bandits, the problems with the viability of their operation went well beyond the lack of beer.
#118019 | Author: Reader | Date: Apr 11 2003
