Just days remain until the end of the current Kentucky legislative session, and lawmakers are still debating a bill concerning the KFC Yum! Center.
As part of the ongoing effort to improve the financial outlook of the KFC Yum! Center, officials have been considering a proposal that would extend the life of the tax increment financing (TIF) district surrounding the arena. In late February, the Kentucky House of Representatives passed its version of the bill, which called for the TIF district to extended from 20 to 45 years.
However, it has yet to pass the senate, which has sought to make changes that would call for certain commitments from Louisville and the University of Louisville. The current legislative session is scheduled to adjourn this week, and officials are waiting to see what–if anything–could happen to the bill over the coming days. More from the Courier-Journal:
This month the state Senate’s budget committee changed the bill to lock in certain commitments from the other players – $3.5 million per year from U of L and $10.8 million per year from the city.
John Karman, spokesman for U of L, released a statement Monday declining to comment because the bill is still being debated.
Metro Council President David Yates said last Thursday to a group of Democratic members that Cox remains optimistic that the measure will pass at the “last minute” before the session adjourns this week. “Obviously, I would urge this Metro Council in the event that it’s something that does not benefit this city as a whole, we would not agree to it,” Yates said.
The Senate committee made many other changes to the bill. It allows extension of the life of the TIF district to a maximum of 38 years and it caps at $315 million the total amount the TIF can generate for the arena, with any revenues beyond that going to state government’s permanent pension fund. It also requires the arena authority to use all of its excess revenues for debt payments and mandates additional reporting requirements of the authority.
“The House version left the commonwealth too exposed in my opinion … with no definitive help from the other entities that are positively affected by having the Yum Center,” [state senator Chris] McDaniel said.
The legislative session is scheduled to conclude on Thursday.
