Associated Press - March 11, 2008 11:54 AM ET
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - The state board that operates the Superdome and the New Orleans Arena faces a $20 million shortfall next year because of increasing insurance costs and the growing price tags of the state's contracts with the New Orleans Saints and Hornets teams.
Doug Thornton, vice president of SMG, the firm that operates the two state facilities, says the Superdome also faces at least a $3 million shortfall in the fiscal year that ends June 30th.
Thornton says the shortfall could be reduced if the Legislature approves a bill that would let the state purchase the stadium debt as a way to lower interest costs. Those interest costs have reached about 12%, instead of the 4% Superdome officials expected to pay on the $290 million it owes.
http://www.klfy.com/Global/story.asp?S=7998037
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - The state board that operates the Superdome and the New Orleans Arena faces a $20 million shortfall next year because of increasing insurance costs and the growing price tags of the state's contracts with the New Orleans Saints and Hornets teams.
Doug Thornton, vice president of SMG, the firm that operates the two state facilities, says the Superdome also faces at least a $3 million shortfall in the fiscal year that ends June 30th.
Thornton says the shortfall could be reduced if the Legislature approves a bill that would let the state purchase the stadium debt as a way to lower interest costs. Those interest costs have reached about 12%, instead of the 4% Superdome officials expected to pay on the $290 million it owes.
http://www.klfy.com/Global/story.asp?S=7998037