A new South Side stadium for the White Sox was put on hold Thursday as legislative leaders and Gov. James Thompson met behind closed doors for nearly four hours, fashioning an extra $8 million in incentives for Richard Duchossois, multi-millionaire owner of Arlington Park Race Track.
But while the negotiations caused the Illinois General Assembly to postpone any votes on the two major sporting issues, they appeared to ensure that both packages–now inextricably linked in the legislators` eyes–would meet a favorable audience in the House and Senate Friday.
”My own expectation is that as long as the racing package is now subject, it appears, to majority approval, the White Sox also will be approved,” said Senate President Philip Rock (D., Oak Park).
Rock, who said he will call the racing measure for a vote first, said there is a ”distinct possibility” that the stadium measure would be rejected if the racing measure fails.
”That`s one of the reasons we negotiated for four or five hours today, to make sure that there is a racetrack bill that is acceptable to those that are interested in it,” he said.
Both measures appeared doomed earlier in the day when Duchossois complained that the racing package would not provide enough financial incentive for him to build a replacement for the Arlington Heights track that was damaged by fire.
Sources close to Duchossois said that even the new package, the 26th rewrite of the racing legislation, would be insufficient to allow him to construct a $100 million track and equestrian complex at Old Mill Creek in northern Lake County. It would, however, enable him to rebuild the track on its present site in the northwest suburb.
”Duchossois should speak for Duchossois, but that`s my understanding,”
confirmed James Reilly, Thompson`s chief of staff.
The new agreement grants Duchossois a special 2.5 percent surcharge on parimutuel winnings on Arlington Park races from bets made at off-track parlors. Duchossois also would have the right to ask all the local government units that serve the Arlington site to abolish their property tax levies on the new track.
The two Duchossois-only incentives are estimated to be worth up to $7.5 million, with the surcharge yielding him $2.5 million and the abatements, if all the taxing bodies agree, totaling $4 million to $5 million. In addition, he stands to reap $5.6 million from the original agreement that applies to all seven racetrack owners. His net gain would then be an estimated $12.1 million. The original agreement allows the tracks to operate off-track betting parlors and reduces the state`s parimutuel tax to a flat 2 percent from an average 6.75 percent rate in addition to implementing stricter regulations for track employees and drug testing for horses.
”I think we`ve solved racing to the point where we can both reform the racing industry to satisfy people of the State of Illinois that racing is being conducted under the highest standards of integrity, to strengthen the whole racing industry . . . and to allow Arlington Park Race Track to be rebuilt and to make Illinois competitive,” said Thompson, visibly ailing from back problems, after the afternoon-long session.
Democratic leaders, especially House Speaker Michael Madigan (D., Chicago) appeared miffed at the size of Duchossois` breaks, but by going along they likely will secure Republican support for the new White Sox stadium.
Not that the stadium is without opponents.
On Thursday, the state`s hotel and motel industry blistered the proposal to fund the stadium not only with rent payments from the Sox but with a 2 percent tax on city hotel rooms. The proposal would raise the city`s tax on hotel and motel rooms to 12.1 percent, second only to New York among major convention cities.
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”Just when our industry starts moving upwards, they drive us back down again,” said Donald DePorter, Chicago regional vice president of Hyatt Hotels Corp. and a leading figure in the city`s tourism industry. ”There`s no benefit for hotels in having baseball games. We get teams at our hotels but not many fans.”
At one point, negotiators wanted to substitute a tax on restaurant meals in the city, but that idea was scrapped when Mayor Harold Washington signaled his displeasure via city lobbyists here.
The city did agree to one minor change in the stadium plan: making the new ballpark at 35th Street and Shields Avenue exempt from local property taxes.
Otherwise, the stadium package to be voted on Friday remains the same. A city-state authority similar to the one that governs McCormick Place would build and own a 45,000-seat, open-air baseball stadium whose prinicipal tenant would be the Chicago White Sox.
The Sox would pay a minimum $4 million a year, and more depending on attendance and on the profitability of skyboxes. Besides the rent and the hotel taxes, the stadium authority would be provided with a $10 million guarantee against future operating deficits. The city would provide $5 million of the back-up, the state $5 million.
Republicans in both legislative chambers complained that the state`s $5 million amounted to an unwarranted operating subsidy, though city lobbyists said that if all goes well the money will never be needed.
Senate Republicans, in addition to opposing the hotel-motel tax hike, also questioned the total price tag and the size of the proposed stadium.
”Not enough seats, too much money, too few guarantees. That`s the basic problem,” said Sen. Roger Keats (R., Glencoe), arguing that domed stadiums in the country have cost less than the $120 million projected for the Sox ballpark.
Keats also questioned building a new stadium near Comiskey Park where Sox officials argued they had trouble attracting crowds when they were lobbying for a suburban stadium in Addison.
”Well, if you can`t draw the crowds to the existing area, why will a new stadium draw bigger crowds?” he asked.
Individual lawmakers milled about the House and Senate chambers, exchanging rumors about the progress of the negotiations, as Thompson met with Rock, Madigan and the Republican leaders in Rock`s office.
Outside the office, reporters and racing industry lobbyists as well as stadium representatives jammed the hallway as aides and city officials scurried in and out of the meeting.
”This afternoon, as I`m sure everybody was aware having sat around all day, we were kind of at gridlock,” Rock said when the meeting broke.
”Nothing was moving.”