Public Funds Rejected for Centerplex : Government: Council says no to committing taxpayer dollars for sports and entertainment complex. Oxnard ballpark plan resurfaces.

VENTURA —  Despite a well-choreographed presentation by proponents, city leaders early Tuesday refused to ante up taxpayer dollars for a share of the proposed $70-million Centerplex sports and entertainment center.

But a 3-year-old proposal to bring minor league baseball to Oxnard has resurfaced, with separate developers plotting to open a privately funded stadium by next spring.

Four hours of public testimony on the economic benefits of minor league baseball and professional motor sports failed to persuade even one member of the City Council that Ventura should spend millions of public dollars building the center.

“I have a big problem with the ballpark,” Mayor Tom Buford said. “It’s a lot of cash . . . I’m not anxious to cut a deal that’s not a good deal.”

At 3 a.m., the council adopted an impromptu resolution supporting the land-use concept proposed by Centerplex developers. But it clearly spells out that the primary investment risk should be to speculators and not taxpayers.

The council, however, indicated a willingness to negotiate a tax-sharing plan similar to one offered to owners of the Buenaventura Mall, who plan to recoup up to $20 million in future sales taxes to help pay for a $50-million renovation.

“If [Centerplex] is going to be such a great hit, then it shouldn’t have any trouble generating the [new] sales-tax revenue to get paid back,” Councilman Steve Bennett said.

The Centerplex proposal had asked the City Council to provide $15.6 million for the stadium and to make a $5-million loan to developers, in addition to funding road improvements of more than $22 million around the site.

But the proposal lost steam even before the debate began, with Councilwoman Rosa Lee Measures excusing herself from the discussion because her family owns property within 2,500 feet of the would-be complex. Measures has been a vocal supporter of Centerplex since its conception earlier this year.

“I sincerely am terribly disappointed,” she told the packed audience before leaving City Hall.

Meanwhile, one speaker warned council members that pursuing a baseball stadium in Ventura would jeopardize a ballpark plan that he said would break ground near Oxnard later this year. The site is still under review, developers said.

“We will build a stadium,” said Bo Brooks, who said he represents a group of private investors.

Outside the council chambers, Brooks said his group plans to break ground on a ballpark later this year and host professional baseball and other activities by spring.

“This thing’s ready to go right now,” he said. “The only question left is the completion of funding.”

Stanley Moorman, a developer who has been working on the Oxnard stadium plan for more than three years, said he hopes to host 300 or more sporting and other events at the private stadium.

“I think I’m closer [than Centerplex developers],” Moorman said. “And the first person to score a run in a one-run game wins.”

Centerplex developer John Hofer said his ballpark project is needed to boost the struggling Ventura Auto Center, where car sales have dropped more than 20% in each of the past four years.

The auto mart still produces about 9% of the city’s sales-tax revenue.

Car industry analyst Robert Fitzharris told the council that he expected either the Oxnard or Ventura auto center to be out of business within 10 years.

Councilman Gary Tuttle said building a baseball stadium is not the only way to rejuvenate the auto mall.

“There’s probably some major [Centerplex] proponents here who didn’t even buy their cars in Ventura,” Tuttle said. “Shame on you.”

After the council flatly rejected the financing plan proposed by Centerplex supporters, Hofer’s attorney, Michael Case, said he would work with his client to draft new proposals.

Case said the Centerplex deal is different than the tax-sharing plan endorsed by the council earlier this year with developers of the Buenaventura Mall.

Stadiums, Case said, are almost always publicly funded because of their benefit to local economies.

“We envisioned a process where the city recognized that and came forward with a contribution,” Case said. “Without some city contribution, it is a problem for us.”

Bennett, among others, reminded Case that the city was probably willing to reimburse investors through future sales taxes.

“That transfers the risk,” Bennett said.

Centerplex developers said Tuesday they would work to piece together another plan to submit to the council before the end of the year.