by J. Brooks Terry
Staff Writer
The City Council’s Finance Committee recommended unanimously Monday to approve the proposed $13 million improvements to Alltel Stadium, but only after exhausting a list of questions and concerns.
New Jumbotron scoreboards, club and suite improvements and large scale painting are part of the pending legislation.
Some committee members were concerned the renovations might add more area to the stadium and subsequently raise annual operating costs.
“If I’m assured those improvements won’t raise the overall costs, then I’ll support this bill,” said Council member Michael Corrigan, who was among the more vocal on the committee to express his concerns.
Corrigan feared additional staffing might be required if the stadium is expanded.
“That was one of my initial concerns and, from what I’ve been told, there won’t be a need for more personnel,” he said. “But I plan to do some more research before this returns before the full Council to make sure we’ve been given accurate information.
“I’m optimistic we have been.”
The City owns the stadium and is only required to provide regular maintenance.
Sparking the fear of any potential inflated costs were reports from Council auditors that game day expenditures at the stadium rose nearly $50,000 during the 2003 season, the first after the additional seating and public right-of-ways in the south end zone were in place.
Council member Gwen Yates said the hike in game day expenses was alarming.
“That just seems like a lot of money,” she said. “Can we be certain they won’t continue to increase?”
Jaguars vice president Bill Prescott and Paul Harden, an attorney representing Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver, confirmed it was unlikely.
“We don’t have any reason to think it would happen any other way,” said Harden.
Harden said the increased floor area that was “part and parcel” with previous stadium renovations differed from what is currently under discussion.
He attributed technological improvements including escalators and elevators as being the most expensive cost overrun.
“Those are the kinds of things that raise costs,” he said, “much more than things like having more concessions.”
Harden added that any increased floor space in the club and suite areas allowed little access to the general public.
In the end, it was Committee chair Warren Alvarez who moved the discussions to another subject.
“We’ve talked about and talked about it and we’ve asked lots of questions,” said Alvarez. “But I’ll vote for this thing.”
After the votes were recorded, Harden and Prescott said they were not surprised by the level of scrutiny attached to the improvement deal.
“We’ve been in contact with the City’s auditors for a while now so we knew it was coming,” said Harden. “But it got a 6-0 vote, so I think it went pretty well.”