Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra wants state revenue to help pay for its new $60 million minor league baseball stadium. And he took that case to the capitol Monday.
At a public hearing of the legislature's Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee, Segarra said the city gives a lot to the state and is hoping for something in return.
"We didn't ask the state for bonding money," Segarra said. "We didn't ask the state for any additional resources. We simply want the opportunity for the people who choose to go to the game to be able to pay for part of our debt."
The city is building a new baseball park for the team now known as the New Britain Rock Cats. When they move to Hartford in 2016, they'll be the Hartford Yard Goats. But the city has to pay its lenders more than $4 million a year on the stadium. And it wants the state to give it about ten percent of that -- money that will be generated from an admissions tax on ticket sales at the stadium itself.
"It would be unfortunate that a venue that is going to create so much benefit to the state, in terms of revenues, basically that the residents of the city are told, 'You're on your own on this one,'" the mayor said.
Segarra had strong backing from Hartford state Senator John Fonfara, who chairs the committee. But others were less enthusiastic. Republican senate leadership opposes the plan, saying it's unfair to other venues across the state where the admissions tax is charged.
Rick Lopes, a Democratic representative from New Britain, said his community still feels burned. "On a lot of different levels, I have to say that I have a real problem with this bill. It's inconsistent, it's unfair to other municipalities, and -- most dearly to me -- it's very unfair to the municipality that lost the Rock Cats," Lopes said. "You could say it smells like a rat. But it smells like a Yard Goat."
The bill is still pending in the legislature.
