Delaware City school board hears city pitch for AAA Blue Jackets arena and 30-year TIF; board to consider consent June 23

City of Delaware officials and representatives of the Ohio AAA Blue Jackets presented a plan June 12 to the Delaware City School Board proposing a three-rink training facility, a 6,000-seat summer concert pavilion and related development on about 270 donated acres at the corner of Sawmill Road and U.S. 42.

The presentation, led by Ed Ginger, president of the Ohio AAA Blue Jackets, and Josiah Huber of Diperna Advisors, laid out an approximate $58 million development that organizers say would be funded primarily by philanthropy and a private entertainment operator, construction loans, and a proposed local tax-increment financing (TIF) bond issued by the Delaware County Finance Authority. Huber described the capital stack and financing terms being discussed with local officials.

The project team said philanthropy and a contribution from a major entertainment operator would together cover roughly 60% of the project. They said planners expect to secure about a quarter of the total through construction loans and to finance the remaining roughly 15% through local support, including a proposed 30-year, 100% TIF bond. Josiah Huber said the TIF bonds would be issued by the Delaware County Finance Authority and “secured and payable solely from TIF revenues generated by the arena as well as the pavilion sites.”

Why it matters: the board must weigh whether a TIF that diverts tax increments for decades is worth projected long-term benefits to the school district and the community. City staff said the site currently generates about $1,200 a year for the school district in the status quo and that the arena-and-amphitheater scenario would produce about $3.2 million in net revenues for the school district over a 30-year period, after accounting for base value taxes, TIF pilot payments and a proposed 25% income-tax sharing pilot. By comparison, the presenters said a potential warehouse scenario would produce roughly $156,000 over 30 years and would require heavy roadway improvements.

Key financing figures and terms presented by the city and its advisors: - Project cost estimate: approximately $58 million for the training facility and pavilion. - Philanthropy + entertainment operator: roughly 60% of the capital stack (city estimate). - Construction loans: roughly 25% of the capital stack. - Local support / proposed TIF bond: roughly 15% of total project costs. - Proposed TIF: 30 years, 100% capture; bonds proposed to be issued by the Delaware County Finance Authority, with no direct backing from the city or the school board. - Projected TIF revenue (advisors’ projection): roughly $450,000 per year; projected annual debt costs roughly $375,000. - Advisors propose annually sharing excess TIF revenues with the school district; one scenario presented would split excess receipts 50/50, with half prepaying the bonds to shorten the TIF term. - City proposal: a 25% pilot of income tax generated at the site to be paid to the school district. - Other local impacts noted by staff: estimated need for $10–$15 million of US 42 improvements for high-traffic development; alternative warehouse scenario would require substantial TIF support and would create heavy truck traffic (presenters modeled ~2.1 million sq. ft. of warehouse in a negative scenario).

Project description and community benefits Ed Ginger said the Blue Jackets’ nonprofit would operate the training facilities and described the project as youth-development focused: “We’re a 501(c)(3) youth hockey organization,” he told the board. The plan includes three indoor rinks, an outdoor pavilion that would function as a 6,000-seat concert venue in summer and an outdoor rink in winter, and space intended for youth programming, public skates and school-related uses. The project team said Bruce Daniels donated the roughly 270-acre site where the project is proposed.

City staff framed the project as catalytic for the Sawmill corridor. Paul Brake and other city officials said the area has seen limited development for more than a decade and that the arena-pavilion project is one option that could produce meaningful commercial activity and new assessed value for the school district after a TIF expires. City staff presented three likely scenarios for the site if the project does not proceed: remain vacant (status quo), a large warehouse park (requiring substantial incentives and creating heavy truck traffic), or a large residential development (which would create new students and require public infrastructure). They said the arena/amphitheater plan produces greater net revenue to the school district in their model than the other options.

Board questions and next steps Board members pressed the city and advisors on details the district will need to assess the proposal. Board member Mr. Weiner framed the board’s fiscal situation bluntly: “We are in the fight of our lives right now to fund our schools,” he said, citing recent legislative funding changes and pressure on district budgets. Board members asked for written clarifications of funding sources, the TIF structure and legal terms, roadway improvement costs, how income-tax pilots and any excess TIF revenue would be calculated and shared, and the timeline for bond issuance.

City staff and the advisors said they would provide additional documentation and that district attorneys were already reviewing draft language. City staff requested the school board consider a consent to the school compensation agreement at the board’s next meeting on June 23 if district counsel’s open questions can be resolved. The city also said it intends to present proposed legislation for a 30-year 100% TIF to the city council and that the Delaware County Finance Authority would be the bond issuer.

Votes at a glance - Action 4.1 — Approval of a three-year agreement with United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) and related memorandum of understanding: approved by roll call (motion passed). (Consent of the board: yes.) - Consent agenda — Personnel hires and resignations, and other consent items: approved by roll call (motion passed). (Included multiple certified and classified hires and resignations; details recorded in the district minutes.) - Action 4.2 — Approval to accept the high bid at public auction and sell 248 North Washington: approved. The board recorded the winning public-auction bid at $500,000.

What the board decided and what remains The board approved routine consent items and the two action items presented at the meeting. The board did not vote to approve or decline the city’s proposed TIF at the June 12 meeting; instead city officials asked the board to consider a school compensation agreement and consent to the TIF at the district’s June 23 meeting if outstanding legal questions can be resolved. District staff and attorneys will gather board questions, provide follow-up material from the city and its financial advisers, and report back to the board with counsel’s analysis.

The project’s financing assumptions, the proposed duration and capture rate of the TIF, and the proposed income-tax sharing and excess-TIF sharing are the central issues the board asked city staff and counsel to clarify before a potential June 23 vote.