Local News
Lubbock City Council creates financing zone for civic center project - fox34.com
Lubbock City Council approved a new financing zone Tuesday that will use hotel tax revenue within a 3-mile radius of the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center to pay for the building's expansion, renovation, and improvement. The zone is structured around what's called a project financing zone.
The zone is structured around what's called a project financing zone. Hotel occupancy tax revenue collected inside that boundary, calculated in increments above this year's baseline, can be directed toward the civic center effort for the next 30 years. The arrangement gives the city a dedicated funding stream without pulling directly from the general budget.
There is a catch. Construction has to begin within five years or the city loses access to the financing zone's benefits entirely. That deadline puts real pressure on the council to move from approval to groundbreaking faster than municipal projects typically tend to go.
For people in Lubbock who use the civic center for concerts, conventions, or graduations, the long-term payoff is a facility that gets upgraded rather than left to age out. Hotels near the civic center will be the ones generating the tax dollars that make it happen, which means visitors to Lubbock are effectively helping foot the bill.
A project approved today could still be drawing on this revenue stream well into the 2050s.
Common questions
How will Lubbock pay for the civic center expansion?
- The city will use hotel occupancy tax revenue collected within a 3-mile radius of the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center. Only revenue above this year's baseline gets directed to the project, so it doesn't pull money from the city's general budget.
How long does Lubbock have to start construction on the civic center?
- Construction must begin within five years or the city loses access to the financing zone's benefits entirely. That deadline puts real pressure on the council to move quickly from approval to breaking ground on the project.
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