Moncton taxpayers could be on the hook for up to $333,785.29 to the Moncton Magic basketball team, according to an agreement confirmed in an 8 – 2 vote at council last night.
Operations Vice President Mike Storey says the city agreed to their proposal, where the team would be paid for every dollar under their projected revenue of $644,682.59.
“This does not mean that they’ll be paying us money, it’s only there as an insurance policy and we hope and intend to work as hard as we can so there’s zero dollars provided to taxpayers here,” says Storey.
He adds council supported their risk mitigation proposal after the team was forced to move to the downtown event centre when the Coliseum becomes solely a venue for trade shows.
“After completing one season at the Coliseum we felt things were trending in the right direction and there was stability there from an operational standpoint and revenue growth,” says Storey. “Moving to the downtown centre would essentially restart that whole process.”
The money will be paid out on a sliding scale, with Storey saying they ultimately would like to be successful enough to ensure they don’t need to rely on the city.
In addition, the deal makes it clear any money owed would be paid out over a three year term.
In addition, for the playoffs, under the five game projection, the maximum total would be reduced by $6,300 per game.
