Venues Factoids

1. The Magic will generate $30-40 million in additional net profits when the new Arena lease is signed.

2. The additional profits will more than double the value of the team from approximately $200 million to about $450-500 million.

3. The city will spend approximately40 million building a parking garage for the new arena. However, the Magic will keep all of the parking revenues during Magic games.

4. Of the $62 million the Magic have agreed to make as a down payment, $12 million is really a prepaid rent payment. It represents 25 years of rent at $1 million per year discounted to $12 million. This is not a real down payment. Interestingly, there was no rent increase for 25 years. (Would I love a lease like that!)

5. The county will provide nearly $300 million for the arena but will never receive a penny back for its generous contribution.

6. The lease with the Magic eliminates any likelihood that another sports franchise will ever share the arena because the new lease gives the Magic all advertisement, corporate suite and naming rights, revenues.

7. Although the county is providing the majority of the money for the arena, it will never receive any revenues or any ownership rights. Only the Magic and the City will share all revenues and the city alone exercises all ownership rights.

8. The Magic is actually not putting one penny into the arena. Instead, they are using a letter of credit which will save the Magic interest payments while preventing the city from generating any interest income.

9. In addition to using the arena for their games, the Magic shall be provided on an annual basis; free office space, free locker rooms, free practice courts, free storage, free gift stores, etc. The Magic will not have to use the RDV facility any longer.

10. The Magic will not have to pay any Real Estate taxes on the new arena.

11. Based on the new contract, the T.D. Waterhouse arena will not be able to compete in any way with the new arena, rendering it useless, even though it still has several decades of useful life remaining.

12. Mr. DeVos spent $35.5 million dollars in an unsuccessful attempt to get his son elected Governor of Michigan yet can not put more capital into his team.