- RFP that is due in January
- Final Report on the Master Plan
- Negotiations to sell or long-term lease ORH
Same Time Next Year
-
It’s been nearly a year since I wrote about the problems that come from
having 11 bosses who are not on the same page about anything, as well as
suggestion...
4 months ago
5 comments:
Any Worc taxpayers are probably thinking more along the lines of BAH HUMBUG!
Quarterly tax bills are due any day now and I am sitting here and asking myself: How much darn money is the City going to leave on the table once they have finalized the Massport deal (assumed) going forward?
I figure it is $40,000 PER YEAR, PER MILLION DOLLARS that ORH could be sold for....
So if ORH could fetch $20M that is $800,000 (40,000 x 20) left on the table.
And we are leaving it on the table ...why???........ b/c Massport MIGHT make some capital improvements of how many dollars per year?
OOpppps, I screwed up my numbers. Should be 125,000 per year per million dollars that ORH could be sold for.
BTW, I figure that each miilion of selling price would raise $25,000 of property tax per year and that each Million of selling price could be invested to yield 10% annually or $100,000. This assumes selling ORH to private for profit company.
Imagine that!!!!!! A chance for Worc to actually pick up a new, for profit, taxpaying entity.
So to repeat my previous example, an ORH selling price of $20M yields $3M for the city coffers every year ( 125,000 x 20).
Dam it $2.5M, not $3M. Gee, at this rate maybe I could get a job at Massport-Worc!
LOL!!! Instead of Jahn Dough it should be Jahn DOH! for all the math errors!!
In any event, since Bill wantes to open the floor up for other idea's,I recently sent this into the editorial board of the T&G.
It hasn't been published yet and is in its unedited state. Feel free to discuss/debate/critique/praise:
With the recent success of minor league sports teams in Worcester , the time may be right to resurrect the idea
of possibly bringing a Canadian Football League franchise to town. Back in the late 1980's-early 1990's timeframe,
a group wanted to have the 'New England Knights' become the first United States franchise for the CFL. Holy Cross'
Fitton Field was chosen as the preferred stadium to play in. Lack of buy in from the necessary stakeholders ultimately
doomed the project at that particular time but it did raise an interesting prospect. We fast forward now to the present and
the city of Worcester has undergone tremendous change. Worcester now supports 2 (soon to be 3) minor league franchises,
whereas this brings notoriety and name recognition to the city, it pales in the exposure which could be brought by a major
league sports franchise.
A win-win scenario stands to emerge if this is handled right this time. First and foremost the big winner is the city of Worcester.
With the emerging canal district complementing Shrewsbury Street,Highland Street and downtown for restaurant/bar/nightlife
business- the possibility of bringing in 25,000 fans (the average attendence for CFL games and considered a sell out by
Fitton Field standards) per game for 9 home games over the period of June-October (the CFL regular season) would spread
around tremendous economic spinoff, not to mention a good shot in the arm economically for the area surrounding Fitton
Field/Holy Cross. If you factor in the work being done with the Mass Pike/146 connector, this truly makes the CFL team accessible
to all of New England and would bring many new and first time visitors to the city. Another winner would be the Worcester airport as
the teams will have to fly in somewhere and thus create a demand for use at the airport!
Holy Cross would also win in that this could further fulfill a payment in lieu of taxes obligation started by the work done on the
baseball stadium for the Worcester Tornadoes and furthered with the CFL franchise. Also any televised games beamed to
Canada would showcase the campus for any prospective students considering going to McGill or Concordia University to
possibly consider Holy Cross instead. Canada has a population of 33,000,000, if just 10 percent of the country was to view
the games regularly, then Holy Cross and Worcester, Ma would be mentioned repeatedly to 3,300,000 people; major exposure
for the city and Holy Cross! After a few years to establish a solid fan base then a stadium could be built in the former Wyman
Gordon property to accomodate both the CFL franchise and the Worcester Tornadoes, once again stimulating the area
surrounding Kelley Square, the canal district and downtown. Back in the day there was a Worcester Stadium Committee, maybe
they should reform and explore this option?
Another big winner would be the Worcester Sharks hockey team; the AHL is followed very closely in Canada and if Worcester Shark
games would be held in the evening of a CFL franchise afternoon game, you truly have a sports fan's 'double header'.
The CFL is also looking for another team to complement the addition of an Ottawa franchise to keep the amount of teams represented
in the 2 divisions of the CFL even. Opportunity is knocking. As far fetched as this idea may seem just consider a major stakeholder
who would lend instant credibility to any group trying to get a CFL franchise going into Worcester; just 25 miles to the east of the city
resides the CFL's most legendary player, he won the CFL's Most Outstanding Player award six times and the league's Grey Cup championship three times.
He is of course, Doug Flutie who also played his last regular season college game for Boston College at Fitton Field vs Holy Cross.
For Doug's part to help land the franchise a donation to the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism to the tune of anywhere from
$1 to $3 per ticket would sure add up quick!
For further information consult the following website: http://www.cfl.ca
Harry Tembenis
Worcester, MA
Harry, I like this idea. But please, no gov't money for any stadium. You do not say how it would be paid for, but too often these franchises want the local municipality to ante up forr the stadium.
We have too many examples in too many cities of Joe Six Pack Taxpayer basically subsidizing the multi million dollar salarise of prof. athletes.
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