Developers unveil new financing proposal for South Broad district

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – A series of meetings were held on Thursday to discuss the current status of the South Broad Stadium project.

The Chattanooga-Hamilton County Stadium Authority and The Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce held meetings, which some Chattanooga city councilpersons and Hamilton County commissioners on what the financial impacts would be for each governmental entity for the updated $40 million rise in cost for this project.

Jim Irwin, the primary developer of the South Broad District, continued to hammer away at his message of, “There will be no additional dollars requested by taxpayers to fund the cost of the ballpark.”

However, questions continue to be raised about the $40 million increase of the South Broad Stadium project.

A rendering of the new South Broad Stadium. (Courtesy: South Broad Project)

One Stadium Authority board member asked Irwin, “I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around this $40 million, okay? Inflation is six to seven percent… $40 million is a lot more than six to seven percent.”

Mark Mamantov, a Knoxville bond lawyer who specializes in public financing projects including the ongoing construction of a new Knoxville ballpark explained the proposal coming from the Lookouts owners and developers.

In essence, developers are proposing they give $40 million in aggregate loans to the Sports Authority.

$25 million of this would come from Hardball Capital who own the Lookouts and $15 million from Perimeter Properties who own the proposed South Broad District.

Mamantov explains, “They would be paid back from whatever incremental tax revenues whether it’s things they develop or what other folks develop within the South Broad District.”

A point of contention between developers and critics such as Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp is how much of the burden will be placed on taxpayers due to this $40 million loan.

Wamp’s office sent us a fact sheet in which their estimates of the total cost of this project including the construction of new infrastructure.

Their office estimates the real project cost is $139 million dollars and ultimately $262.5 million would have to be spent.

This is the higher initial agreement of a $79.5 million project with a total spending total of $138.8 million.

Mamantov says based on his analysis, the developer’s proposal would squarely put financial pressure on the developers to get the ball rolling on construction.

Mamantov said, “If the properties and there are not adequate TIF revenues to pay them, this is even their proposal, it’s not me saying this, they understand they would not be paid.”