Left In Lowell

Came in with a bang; went out with a whimper

12 Responses to “Came in with a bang; went out with a whimper”

1. Ryan Adams Says:
   October 31st, 2009 at 8:25 am

   Honestly, this is probably a good thing. The city was never going to make a profit from it and the college not only uses it a ton already, a lot of the events that are held there appeal to many of the college students attending UMASS Lowell.

   I’m sure you know more about this issue than I do, but I can’t help but imagine this is a great deal for the city, and better the college have that burden than Lowell.

   Plus, the college is probably better able to put the investments into the Tsongas that are needed, since they can just grab it from the purse strings of their students (no prop 2 1/2 for UMASS). Look for the new hidden Tsongas fee in a UMASS Lowell student’s bill near you.

2. tryin to stay anonymous Says:
   October 31st, 2009 at 8:46 am

   Am I reading this right? The state took the debt too? I didn’t think that was part of the original arrangement. I read it in the breaking news blurb last night on the Sun site and did a double take, but it wasn’t cited in Shaughnessy’s article today.

   If so that’s a huge win for the city. With the operations budget and debt off the books the city can at least keep its head above water a little longer (this savings in all reality is already gone with declining receipts and the failure to approve things like the meals tax), but I’m guessing if it sounds too good to be true it probably is. Even if the debt is off the city ledger all they did was spread it around to everyone now. So Congratulations to Provincetown, Gosnold, Lee, Williamstown and Salisbury, et all, you all just bought a 1/351 share of the arena.

   By the way, didn’t Marty just buy a hotel and conference center for the university? Now we’re going to have another one? I’m not saying it isn’t part of a potentially good plan for integrating the city and university going forward, but its no panacea.

3. Mimi Says:
   October 31st, 2009 at 9:45 am

   Tryin…

   You are right. That piece of info appears in yesterday’s breaking news article but not today’s. I will verify it and get back to you.

4. Mimi Says:
   October 31st, 2009 at 9:50 am

   Here is the link to yesterday’s article:

   http://m.lowellsun.com/lowell/db_32412/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=WuyH9rAa&src=cat

5. waittilnextyr Says:
   October 31st, 2009 at 11:22 am

   tryin, you are correct - the debt is retained by the City. The University will pick up the operating deficit when the transfer is complete, hopefully converting that to a profit eventually. The only debt they will pick up is for the $5M improvement program that they have planned.

6. tryin to stay anonymous Says:
   October 31st, 2009 at 12:07 pm

   Thanks, I figured as much. That’s a pretty big factual error in the breaking news piece though.

7. Right in Lowell Says:
   October 31st, 2009 at 12:54 pm

   Either way, WE still pay!

8. waittilnextyr Says:
   October 31st, 2009 at 12:57 pm

   Here is an excerpt from the SUN article one week ago:

   The terms of a tentative deal hammered out earlier this year by Meehan and Lynch, in conjunction with state Sen. Steve Panagiotakos, still stand. They include:

   * UML paying the city $1 for the arena, with the city retaining responsibility for the remaining $2 million in debt service.

   * The city receiving a vacant, four-acre parcel of university-owned land north of the Bellegarde Boathouse on Pawtucket Boulevard for $1.

   * UML paying the city $800,000 for the adjacent three-acre River Place parcel, to be transferred “as is.” The former industrial site, valued at $2.9 million, carries an estimated $2.1 million in associated costs to clean up the land.

   The media may have been misled by listening to certain city councilors who may have trouble distinguishing between deficit and debt. When the deal is complete UML will be responsible for the operations, and therefore the deficit, but not the debt service which is running about $355K this year and projected at about $334K in FY 2011. As far as the FY 2010 deficit, the City will still have the $355K debt service plus the operational deficit for about 6-7 months. That lesser time probably won’t save anything from the perspective of the budget as the projected $630K deficit in the budget was a low-ball, possibly due to anticipated improvements in operations, but more likely based on the expectation of the arena transfer.

9. -b Says:
   October 31st, 2009 at 8:55 pm

   This is a good move. The city gets rid of a bad asset, and UML gets a chance to add some more hacks to the payroll. I’ll have to keep my eyes open for the job postings.

10. Lynne Says:
    November 1st, 2009 at 11:10 am

    -b: side splitting funny…if it weren’t so damn true. Sigh.

    Honestly, I think we could have had a shot of reviving this asset if given half a chance under this city manager, but the hacks decided otherwise. I think this arena is too large for the U and will prove to be an issue going forward, but I guess…except for the existing debt (yikes!) it’ll be off our books at least now.

    Still this this is a bad deal for the U, but whatever. Meehan wanted it, Meehan got it. Good luck with that.

11. waittilnextyr Says:
    November 1st, 2009 at 1:27 pm

    I expect Meehan will make better use of the arena than the City could because he has a good base of patrons, and won’t be so concerned with the pro team that he will enter a bad deal with them.

    As for the City, the arena is still an asset, and probably of even more value with the university being able to maintain/upgrade it. We should look at the arena as an asset for the City, even though the City does not control its operations. A well-run arena can be an attraction for companies that are considering Lowell for location.

12. Bob Forrant Says:
    November 3rd, 2009 at 2:17 pm

    Ever the eternal optimist - now that’s a good one - I think that the arena and the inn and conference center will work well and provide the city with bookend venues to attract interesting concerts, speakers, plays and other kinds of cultural activities thta cna utilize one or the oter spot. Chinese acrobats anyone? Lowell city council meetings as mixed martial arts event inside a steel cage, (AK vs. JM as headliner) school committee vs. superintendent and staff battle royals (no arm drags allowed Regina!).

    But seriously. Managed properly the arena ought to become a source for drawing folks into the city who will then learn about other aspects of the downtown. It would be great to have a lot of local restaurants/bakeries providing a significant amount of the food at all events as a way to introduce visitors to the best of Lowell dining. And, it would be great to have promotional materials on hand for the numerous galleries, museums and artists’ haunts around the city too. The ICC and arena present opportunities for a lot of cross-marketing.

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