I am in support of the new baseball stadium plan. However, it is with caution that I read almost daily changes in the proposed funding plans, which seem to put more of the burden for paying for the stadium on economic projections that try and predict movie ticket revenues over the next 20 years. If you study the trends in moviegoing, companies like Netflix are eating into the movie theater revenues each year. It will not be long before the person sitting at home will pay to see movies at the same time as their release in movie theaters. What happens then with the paybacks that are projected in these 20-year ticket tax projections?
This area has seen revenue projections for two other facilities (the downtown hotel and the amphitheater) fall way short and require reductions in rent payments to the county for the amphitheater or added funding support for the hotel. Let’s work to find another way to support the building of this new stadium. Perhaps that calls for the Yakima Bears owners to seek a local investor to be a part owner, who will put more cash into the deal.
Greg Flakus
Vancouver
