By Tom Latek
Kentucky Today
Grumbling state lawmakers are questioning why Kentucky taxpayers are picking up a large share of the cost of operating the KFC Yum! Center, home of the University of Louisville Cardinals.
McDaniel
“The taxpayers are being fleeced; period,” said state Sen. Chris McDaniel, R-Taylor Mill, speaking during a meeting of the Capitol Projects and Bond Oversight Committee on Tuesday.
State Auditor Mike Harmon sparked the lawmakers’ concerns by unveiling findings from a financial review of the Louisville Arena Authority.
Harmon said his staff found that 75 percent of the Yum! Center’s operating income comes from the state and the city of Louisville. He said the University of Louisville Athletic Association should be in a position to cover a larger share of the facility’s debt.
“Because several university athletic association revenue sources are not reported to the Arena Authority, we cannot state how much exactly the athletic association has benefited from the Yum! Center lease,” Harmon said. “But, we can see that the athletic association benefits significantly from the arena-related revenue.”
U of L and the arena authority are in lease negotiations that could result in the university paying an additional $2.5 million toward debt payments on the facility.
Rep. Phil Moffett, R-Louisville, said “the public deserves to know how much the U of L Athletic Association is making from the Yum! Center agreement, and how much the Yum! Center is making.”
Rep. Jim Wayne, D-Louisville, called for the auditor to follow up with a review of the athletic association’s finances.
Harmon didn’t rule out Wayne’s request.
“That’s the first time I’m aware of that we’ve been asked,” Harmon said. “We’ll have to sit down with staff and see if that’s something we have the staffing to do.”
Former Attorney General Chris Gorman, speaking to the legislative committee, said state and local governments are essentially using their taxing authority to benefit a NCAA Division I basketball program.
“I think it’s wrong,” Gorman said. “If you’re going to do that, what is to prevent athletic directors from Kentucky’s six other public universities from asking for the same deal? Athletics is a big time business, and they do not need to be supplemented by state and local government.”
