Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard pulled out his predecessor Steve Goldsmith’s Republican playbook and began exploring a host
of privatization proposals in an effort to save money.
The past year has been mighty unkind to the Capital Improvement Board, the entity charged with operating the city’s
professional sports venues and Indiana Convention Center.
Marion County Commissioners reappointed Doug Brown on Thursday morning to the Indianapolis Capital Improvement Board, leaving
only one seat open on the nine-member panel whose financial troubles this year have elevated its profile.
IUPUI says it needs about $15 million to renovate the aging Natatorium swimming complex and wants the city’s Capital Improvement Board to fund part of the expense.
CIB Treasurer Ann Lathrop will become board president, replacing Bob Grand at the helm of the organization that oversees the city’s professional sports stadiums and the Indiana Convention Center.
An aide to Mayor Greg Ballard says he hopes a private operator can find “operating and maintenance savings in the millions."
The Indianapolis Capital Improvement Board likely will accept a state loan providing $27 million over three years to help
shore up its fragile financial situation.
Approaching the end of 2009, Indianapolis’ cash-strapped Capital Improvement Board is on much more solid financial footing.
A new task force formed this month is charged with recommending solutions to the financial problems of the Indianapolis
Capital Improvement Board and its related convention and tourism issues.
Mayoral Chief of Staff Paul Okeson said the city isn’t sure it makes sense to privatize operations now handled by
the Capital Improvement Board, “but we’re obligated on behalf of the taxpayer to find out.”
The Indianapolis Capital Improvement Board’s dire financial situation might be improving enough that it may forego the
first installment of a $27 million state loan.
A little more than six months before the 2010 NCAA men’s Final Four is set to tip off at Lucas Oil Stadium, the NCAA
has not yet finalized a rental deal for the facility. While officials for the NCAA and Local Organizing Committee,
the group charged with operating the event in Indianapolis, downplay any problems, sports business experts say it is unusual
not to have an agreement pinned down in the months leading up to the event.
The financial condition of the city’s Capital Improvement Board, though improving, is still dire enough that employees
of the Indiana Convention Center could be subjected to more unpaid furloughs or layoffs.
The idea of the not-for-profit Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association taking out a loan was not warmly received by
city officials. And financial institutions were less than thrilled with the idea given the ICVA’s diminishing revenue
and increasing costs.
Three music events with direct visitor spending estimated at $28 million that were hosted at Lucas Oil Stadium offer proof,
city officials said, that the expense of the retractable roof and other features of the $720 million facility are paying off.
The Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association is so desperate for more marketing funding, the organization charged
with promoting the city as a convention and tourism destination is considering taking out a loan. While that
would be the last resort, ICVA CEO Don Welsh said it is one he will have to consider if the money can’t be raised through
local taxes.
The City-County Council wisely averted disaster for the Capital Improvement Board Aug. 10 by voting to raise the city’s
hotel tax from 9 percent to 10 percent, but the razor-thin vote was another disappointing case of elected officials making
decisions based on partisanship rather than good judgment.
The beleaguered Indianapolis Capital Improvement Board has whittled its anticipated 2010 deficit of $47 million to only $5 million. But how it slashed $7 million since the end of the Legislative special session and how it proposes to close the final gap are a mystery.
The legislative session that concluded June 30 with passage of a two-year budget left a bad taste in our mouths. For starters,
legislators lacked the courage to tackle local government reform—even though cash-strapped units of government
desperately need the millions of dollars in savings they would generate. In short, they put political cronyism ahead of the
interests of the state.
The Capital Improvement Board could be forced to give up one of its most profitable assets so the city can pull off a $65-million
public-private downtown development deal. The city has agreed to help a developer revitalize the vacant former Bank One operations
center in part by acquiring an adjacent
parking garage for $18.5 million.
