Phoenix Councilman Sal DiCiccio has taken to Facebook to explain his opposition to the current City of Phoenix and Phoenix Suns’ agreement to make expensive renovations of the city-owned Talking Stick Resort Arena.
“I have put together a short analysis of the current Suns proposal to provide additional information and to provide others, especially my colleagues on the Council, with the opportunity to challenge this analysis,” said DiCiccio in a press release. “The waterfall agreement that details where the monies from the stadium go was set up to favor the Suns, because they put the most money in up front. Now they want the City to put more money in than they are, but the waterfall stays the same. That’s not fair to our citizens.”
From Practicallaw.com: Waterfall provisions set out the economic consequences of an investment or the business deal among parties.
DiCiccio says information about the waterfall agreement “was not provided at all of the meetings that were conducted by the city.” DiCiccio argues that the information “is critical to providing a full picture of the current proposal.”
“There are two things that would make this deal more fair: either lower the public investment or change the waterfall to reflect our greater contribution,” concludes DiCiccio.
According to the Phoenix Business Journal, “The upgrades will cost $230 million, with the city paying $150 million and the Suns paying $80 million.”