LINCOLN -- Legislation that would help the City of Ralston develop a $25 million, 3,500-seat ice hockey/entertainment arena skated Monday to easy initial approval.
Ralston Mayor Don Groesser, who is seeking to redevelop a former golf course, smiled broadly after 36-0 first-round advancement of Legislative Bill 779.
The measure would give smaller cities the same opportunity now offered to Omaha and Lincoln: to use sales taxes generated in the vicinity of an arena to help pay off the facility's debts.
Omaha Sen. Steve Lathrop, who represents the Ralston area, said smaller cities deserve the same economic opportunities that helped build the Qwest Center Omaha and that could help Lincoln build its proposed Haymarket arena.
LB 799 would provide “another tool in the toolbox” for smaller economic development projects in smaller cities, Lathrop said.
The bill, he emphasized, is only for future projects and couldn't be used for the baseball stadiums being built in downtown Omaha and Sarpy County.
Under amendments adopted Monday, LB 779 also couldn't be used to build a private amusement park, as had been originally proposed.
The only project mentioned so far that would benefit is the Ralston proposal to redevelop the former Lakeview Golf Course property near 72nd and Q Streets into a venue for ice hockey and concerts.
The Omaha Lancers, which are operating under a one-year lease at Omaha's Civic Auditorium, have been mentioned as possible tenants.
Groesser said the Ralston arena would be possible only if the Legislature passed LB 779. Even then, he said, it has only a 50-50 chance of becoming reality.
“I feel better than I did last week, obviously,” the mayor said.
Under LB 779, sales taxes generated by all retail businesses within 600 yards of the arena would be tapped to pay off arena bonds.
All state sales taxes collected by businesses that open up to 24 months before and after the arena's opening could also be used, as could the increased state sales taxes generated by existing businesses.
Seventy percent of the state sales tax would be “turned back” to the city to retire arena debts. The remaining 30 percent would go into a fund providing grants to community improvement projects in other cities statewide.
Hastings Sen. Dennis Utter expressed concern about siphoning away state sales taxes for local projects. He also questioned whether a new Ralston arena would generate new economic activity or just shift it from elsewhere.
Lawmakers, though, voted 28-6 to reject an attempt by Utter to derail the bill.
Contact the writer:
402-473-9584, paul.hammel@owh.com
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