The timing of the groundbreaking for the Chester soccer stadium probably could have been a little better.
Less than 48 hours later, Gov. Ed Rendell, one of the big boosters of the stadium project, was announcing a new wave of budget cuts as the state continues to wallow in red ink.
Rendell is looking to trim $128 million. He’s freezing cost-of-living raises for a lot of state employees. State legislators are now falling all over themselves looking to give back their own COLA pay hike.
The total of cuts Rendell has rolled out now is approaching $440 million. But the state is looking at what some experts believe could be as much as a $1 billion deficit.
That soccer stadium project includes $47 million in state funding, along with another $30 million from Delaware County.
That is adding fuel to the fire of those who believe it’s silly to throw public money into such projects. They argue the stadium will only be used on a small amount of dates, and that the state has no business underwriting the “playpen” of a bunch of rich athletes and even richer owners.
The flip side made by Rendell, Sen. Dominic Pileggi and others is that the stadium is merely one part – albeit likely the crucial one – in a $500 development project along the Chester waterfront.
But with the economy in freefall, there now are some storm clouds surrounding parts of the development. As you might have heard, it’s not a great market out there right now. Those townhouses and apartments that were supposed to surround the stadium, along with lots of office and retail space, are still on the drawing board. The problem could be if that’s where they remain.
I think we likely have not heard the last of the talk about public funding of stadium projects. If the state’s finances continue to nosedive, along with the economy, and other aspects of the Chester waterfront project don’t come to fruition, there will be lots of kicking and screaming, and not just on that soccer field.
Less than 48 hours later, Gov. Ed Rendell, one of the big boosters of the stadium project, was announcing a new wave of budget cuts as the state continues to wallow in red ink.
Rendell is looking to trim $128 million. He’s freezing cost-of-living raises for a lot of state employees. State legislators are now falling all over themselves looking to give back their own COLA pay hike.
The total of cuts Rendell has rolled out now is approaching $440 million. But the state is looking at what some experts believe could be as much as a $1 billion deficit.
That soccer stadium project includes $47 million in state funding, along with another $30 million from Delaware County.
That is adding fuel to the fire of those who believe it’s silly to throw public money into such projects. They argue the stadium will only be used on a small amount of dates, and that the state has no business underwriting the “playpen” of a bunch of rich athletes and even richer owners.
The flip side made by Rendell, Sen. Dominic Pileggi and others is that the stadium is merely one part – albeit likely the crucial one – in a $500 development project along the Chester waterfront.
But with the economy in freefall, there now are some storm clouds surrounding parts of the development. As you might have heard, it’s not a great market out there right now. Those townhouses and apartments that were supposed to surround the stadium, along with lots of office and retail space, are still on the drawing board. The problem could be if that’s where they remain.
I think we likely have not heard the last of the talk about public funding of stadium projects. If the state’s finances continue to nosedive, along with the economy, and other aspects of the Chester waterfront project don’t come to fruition, there will be lots of kicking and screaming, and not just on that soccer field.
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