Bill Shea of Crain's Detroit Business has analyzed the facts and figures in the plans for the new hockey arena in Detroit and concludes the public will pay nearly 60 percent of the cost of the proposed $450 million building.
Property taxes would pay for $261.5 million (58 percent) of the building's construction cost while the team's ownership would provide $188.4 million (42 percent), according to details provided by the state, he writes.
Those are July 2013 dollars based on bonds with a 5.91 percent interest rate.
"Those are some of the details that emerged Wednesday during a presentation provided to the Michigan Strategic Fund board, which approved the sale of $450 million in 30-year tax-exempt private activity bonds for the project.
"The Downtown Development Authority intends to use $284.5 million in property taxes already captured within its 615-acre downtown district to pay off the bonds issued by the state to build the arena. The remainder of the district costs, or $365.5 million, will be picked up by Olympia."
