No County Cash for Arena

Mecklenburg County commissioners will soon vote on a resolution against using county resources to help build an uptown arena.

Board Chairman Parks Helms predicts failure for the nonbinding resolution, which commissioner Bill James added Friday to the board's June 6 agenda.

Shinn shares ownership of the Charlotte Hornets with Ray Wooldridge, who is spearheading the effort for an uptown Hive.

"We need to be very careful to make Ray Wooldridge understand that - hello? - you're not getting any county dollars," James said.

Wooldridge this week presented a financing plan for a new arena, which has the city, county and state paying between 70 percent and 75 percent of the estimated $250 million bill. He suggested that the county's portion come from a hike in the car rental tax. An increase in that tax could amount to $65 million.

James said Wooldridge must realize that the county has far better ways to spend car rental tax money.

"Frankly, schools are more important than building an arena. He's talking about raising taxes on citizens of Mecklenburg County who are already in a serious crunch as a result of having to pay for equity in schools," James said.

A September court ruling, forbidding the continued use of race as a factor in pupil assignments, has put pressure on Charlotte-Mecklenburg school officials to build more schools and work toward equity in facilities and academic offerings.The county, not the city, is partly responsible for paying for schools, providing about a third of their budget. The money Wooldridge hopes the city will contribute would come from the hotel/motel tax, which can be used only for tourism-related projects.

Citing school needs, Wooldridge on Thursday said he knows the county can't contribute any money toward an arena this year and that the state also now lacks the cash.

He said that he expects commissioners and legislators to approve arena funding next year, but that he can still start building an arena this summer with interim financing, such as a bank loan.

Helms said the resolution is premature because the Hornets and the city - not the county - are trying to hammer out a public-private arena deal.

"It's an important policy decision that the Charlotte City Council needs to address. It is our role not to muddy the waters."

City Manager Pam Syfert and her staff are studying Wooldridge's proposal. They aim to present their analysis to the council's economic development committee on the same day that James' resolution goes before the commissioners.

Reach Lauren Markoe at (704) 358-5076 or lmarkoe@charlotteobserver.com.