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State funds for Plan B still not locked in:
Friday, April 03, 1998 By Peter J. Shelly, Post-Gazette Harrisburg Correspondent
This is the fourth in a series of articles taking a closer look at "Plan B," the financing mechanism proposed by Pittsburgh and Allegheny County officials to pay for new baseball and football stadiums and the expansion of the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.
Today's installment is about state funding for the projects.
HARRISBURG -- Much of the mystery and money surrounding the plan for financing Pittsburgh's sports stadiums and convention center construction remains in Harrisburg -- home of the state checkbook, the 253 men and women lawmakers who open that checkbook and Gov. Ridge, who actually signs the checks.
So, what's up? For the moment, not much.
The Legislature is on spring break until April 20. When it returns, the GOP-controlled Legislature and the administration are working on the 1998-99 state budget. After that's enacted, probably in late April or May, the Legislature expects to tackle local tax reform.
But behind the scenes, the Ridge administration continues to crunch numbers, especially those dealing with expanding the Downtown convention center. And lawmakers in both chambers are working on various fronts to secure state funding.
Before anyone will be distributing those big cardboard checks, there are niggling details about the local funding share for Plan B that still need to be worked out.
What happens next? Will the fractious Allegheny County Democrats join hands with the Legislature's GOP majority and agree on the state capital spending projects that deserve top billing? Will Plan B ever become more than a set of blueprints? Will the November election be a factor? Here's a hint on that final one: Yes.
These are a few of the questions and answers kicking around the Capitol in Harrisburg:
Q. How much could the state kick in?
A. The state budget surplus stands at better than $300 million and could grow to more than $400 million by June 30, the end of this fiscal year.
Theoretically then, the Legislature and the Ridge administration could agree to give Mayor Murphy or the Allegheny County commissioners $400 million and tell them to start building. Theoretically, of course, the Pirates could win 150 games this year. You read it here first, folks: Neither will happen.
Q. How much is the state likely to kick in?
A. That's unsettled for now, but we do know some of the ceilings. For the stadiums, the Ridge administration has assured one and all that the state is good for as much as one-third of the cost -- within reason. As Ridge puts it, the state will help pay for a stadium, not a "Taj Mahal." And he's said the state will go as high as half the cost for expansion of the convention center.
Q. Who in Harrisburg is working the numbers to see whether the Plan B funding scheme will hold water?
A. Think of the Capitol as a big MAC machine. The man with the four-digit code is Budget Secretary Robert Bittenbender, Ridge's top numbers man. If "Budget Bob" doesn't like the figures, then the game is over. Obviously, Ridge can overrule Bittenbender, but the budget chief's blessing can't hurt.
Q. How does the money get from Harrisburg to Pittsburgh?
A. Forget about the stadiums for now, and focus on the convention center expansion: It's easier that way.
The administration doesn't need to go back to the Legislature to seek its authorization for releasing any convention center project money. The dollars for all the projects have been included in the capital budget, a huge wish list of initiatives around the state -- from new roads and prisons to stadiums. But because the convention center is publicly owned, its expansion would be a public project, and the administration could literally write a check today for expanding it.
But the stadiums are a different animal altogether. The stadium money would come through the Redevelopment Assistance Program, which has a pot of money the state taps to help pay for facilities that aren't state-owned. There's about $90 million available now in that pot. For the state to be allowed to borrow more money than that, the Legislature would need to pass a law enabling the fund's debt limit to be raised.
Q. When will the teams get the $90 million?
A. About the same time the Pirates win that 150th game.
The Pirates and Steelers aren't the only professional sports teams looking at that money. The Philadelphia Eagles and Phillies want some of it, too. Politically, there is no way that Ridge or the Legislature will turn over the entire $90 million to Pittsburgh.
"You could not do two stadiums with the $90 million. You couldn't do one because you couldn't give all of it to one stadium in one corner of the state. That isn't going to happen," a Ridge staffer said.
In short, at some point, the stadium backers will have to muster the votes in the Legislature to fund the projects with money beyond the Redevelopment Assistance Program's pot.
Q. Can they do that?
A. No doubt. Given that both Philadelphia and Pittsburgh could benefit, there is plenty of political willpower available to do a deal.
Q. When will they do it?
A. Look at the calendar. It's 1998. In an even-numbered year, all 203 House seats and 25 of the 50 Senate seats are up for grabs. Ridge, too, is up for re-election.
That means this deal won't fly until after Election Day, Nov. 3, most observers figure. Ridge has long been on record as saying he'll go for state funding of a third of the stadium deals.
Democrats and Republicans alike, in Philadelphia as well as Pittsburgh, all agree that there's little political advantage in putting up a vote for new sports stadiums in an election year.
It's possible. But, hey, so are those 150 wins for the Pirates.
Do you have questions about the components of Plan B? If so, send them to Dissecting Plan B, c/o Local News, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 34 Blvd. of the Allies, Pittsburgh 15222.
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