Colorado Springs Mayor Steve Bach is asking the state for $82 million in sales-tax incentives to help fund a variety of projects, including a new $60.7 million ballpark for the Colorado Springs Sky Sox (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League).
The application, filed yesterday with the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, would be used for a “City of Champions” project that would also an Olympics museum and a sports-medicine facility at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. From the Denver Post:
The United States Olympic Museum, costing $59.4 million, and the sports stadium, costing $60.7 million, would be adjacent to each other in a blighted section of the city’s southwest downtown area….
The Regional Tourism Act provides projects approved by the state’s Economic Development Commission (EDC) a rebate against the new state sales taxes they generate over 30 years.
The state incentives, if granted at the level requested, would cover about 37.5 percent of total costs, while local government incentives would cover a third of the $218.6 million price tag.
It’s an interesting situation in Colorado Springs, where Sky Sox management says it’s not working for a new ballpark and would be happy staying at Security Service Field, which has benefited from $8 million in investments from ownership in recent years. Then again, it would be foolish to pass on a new $60 million ballpark.
images courtesy city of Colorado Springs.
RELATED STORIES: Who is pushing new Colorado Springs ballpark?; New downtown ballpark under consideration in Colorado Springs
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