Seems Charlotte City Council now wants to stockpile cash from the proposed increase in the prepared meals tax to help pay for additional Bank of America Stadiu upgrades or even a new facility for the Panthers… in 2028. This would be a very bad idea for many reasons. The Charlotte Observer describes one problem with this approach:
UNC Charlotte economist Craig Depken said governments usually focus only on paying for either a new stadium or renovation, not a potential second deal decades in the future. He isn’t aware of a city that has enacted a plan similar to Charlotte’s, where money would be put in reserve for a future request.
“Governments hand over power to the next government,” Depken said. “Locking down millions of dollars for a hypothetical future project? It’s a bit of a head scratcher.”
Depken said having cash reserves on hand could hamper a future City Council in negotiations with the Panthers in 2028 or beyond.
He said it would be like saving $50,000 to a buy new car.
“You walk into the dealer and say you have $50,000 for a new BMW, but you only want to pay $35,000,” he said. “You are going to pay $50,000. It doesn’t help your negotiating.”
Depken is correct, but City Council’s move (sadly) isn’t very surprising as there’s little evidence they have any idea of negotiating basics.
