PSP [Penn Square Partners] should either pony-up whatever shortfall there is, or they should be run out of down with the CC/Hotel tied to their coattails!!!!!
This was their baby all along….why should anyone other than them be left holding the bag???
PSP are the only ones benefitting from this CC/Hotel; they should be the only ones making it sustainable
Why? I mean you and I both know that they should, but they were allowed to position themselves in a way where they have no liability and hold all the cards in a totally one-sided “partnership” with us so why would they?
Morally they should but there is no legal way to force them and they would NEVER kick-in what it would really take to salvage this debacle because there is no salvation.
The center will ultimately die…either as an empty building or a gaming hall while they will take full and complete ownership of a $60 million hotel for pennies on the dollar. There are 3 groups to blame for this… 1) PSP, 2) the moronic “leaders” that allowed and facilitated it, and 3) the public that chose to remain quiet while it was being rammed through ignored a small minority of people were trying to warn them.
EDITOR: If the Convention Center “dies”, so does the Marriott. The City owns the Marriott and has guaranteed the bonds.
First let me say that when I say “dies”, I mean that the space is not viable as a meeting/convention center, its intended use. Not sure if I agree with your conclusion that if the center dies, the hotel dies. Either way, PSP is protected.
If the center becomes a for-profit casino, the hotel will most definitely continue to operate and PSP will own it for next to nothing. If the center sits vacant and the hotel dies too, PSP is protected because it has no assets and RACL is stuck holding the bag and [PSP] got their $7 million when they sold it PLUS the development fees, construction fees, concrete fees, steel fees, commissions, etc., etc., etc.
Let this be a lesson. When the Pols say it’s a public / private partnership voters should read that the private sector gets the upside and the public sector (taxpayers) get the downside. Heads they win; tails taxpayers lose.