McKinney approves funding for Dr Pepper StarCenter

by Rodney Williams of McKinneyNews.net

The proposed Dr. Pepper StarCenter project, to be built in West McKinney, overcame one of its final hurdles on Wednesday.

McKinney Community Development Corporation board of directors voted 6-1 in favor of a $5.5 million bond to fund the project.

The StarCenter, which gained major momentum after a March 24 board meeting in which developer David Craig and Dallas Stars President Jim Lites pitched the project, is planned to feature two sheets of ice and boast an 85,000 square foot facility within Craig Ranch near Stacy Rd. and Hwy. 121. The total cost for the StarCenter is set at $11.5 million.

The deal isn't a done one - at least not technically. The McKinney City Council will have to vote to approve MCDC's $5.5 million bond, as it is required to anytime MCDC votes to fund over $100,000. Considering that two of MCDC's board members - Bill Cox and Bill Vitz - are councilmen and that another councilman, Brian Loughmiller, attended Wednesday's MCDC meeting in support of the project, the end result appears to be a foregone conclusion.

The $11.5 million tab can essentially be broken down into two parts; $5.5 million in approved funds from MCDC and $6 million remaining which the City Council is currently handling and which will basically get paid back through lease payments from the Stars ownership group. Lease payments are estimated to be in the range of $40,000 per month.

Contrary to what was reported in another local media outlet, MCDC did not approve funding of the full $11.5 million for the project. MCDC Chair Ray Eckenrode did say, however, that there is the possibility that could change.

"The MCDC only approved $5.5 million today with the future possibility that we would take on the full $11.5 million," he said.

In what was a packed meeting, there were those who spoke out against the project. Eckenrode himself was the lone holdout on the board.

"My vote against the proposal was not against the facility or having the Stars here but against the specific large dollar amount that will result in the MCDC bonding for the first time in its history," he explained. "We (The MCDC) try to represent McKinney's tax payers as best as possible through reinvesting their money into projects that will provide them the highest payback either economically or through general quality of life projects.

"We have a need for ice rinks in McKinney, but compared to other projects we have funded or will be funding, this amount seemed to be disproportionate compared to the actual number of citizens who will ultimately use the facility."

MCDC Vice Chair Joe Maxey was one of the six board members to vote in support of the funding. Interestingly, Maxey said he didn't go in as a supporter of the project.

"We reached a point when it was apparent that the City and Council wanted to go forward with the project. My position was that if the City and Council wanted to go forward, no one was better suited to help fund it than the CDC," Maxey said.

"Utilizing sales tax dollars [MCDC is funded by a half-cent sales tax] on something like this is not a bad deal in my mind," said Maxey, who added that visitors to McKinney will also be helping to foot the bill when they buy taxable goods. "It won't just be on our residents to help pay for this."

The StarCenter will take 12 months to build, and it is hoped that the facility can open its doors by August of 2009.