Private investors should take risk

 On the front page of The Sun Sept. 26 there was another "carrot" for the activity-starved population of Yuma County. Today, the events center is "critical" to get a soccer franchise, earlier this week it was a hockey team and last month it was an arena football team.

  I don't know about you, but I am getting really tired of being treated like the village idiot. The development of the events center should be a private enterprise, to survive or fail on its own merits and ability to provide what the community wants.

  It was interesting to read of all the things going on at the Prescott center, but I also read that there was not enough money made with all their events to meet the interest payments and they had to dip into other funds. The average income, age, interests, proximity to large populations and disposable income of the Prescott communities are very different to those of use in Yuma County.

  None of the articles talk about how much it costs the consumer to attend the games, matches, concerts or other events. Where families are struggling to pay for school supplies, food and gas for their vehicles, how often will the normal citizen in Yuma have available funds to attend events, whether as a family or individuals?

  In the last six months there have been closures of major retail and dining facilities here. The financial condition of the county has everyone watching their pennies. Retirees have seen their investments lose value and monthly income reduced. The same front page has an article on the cost of the investment bank chaos to the city and county of Yuma. Where will the funds that were part of existing budgets come from now?

  I think we as citizens of Yuma are fortunate to have the opportunity to determine our own fate concerning the new events center. I look at all the programs the city and county provide to us for recreation and entertainment, high school and college sports, our varied hunting and water sports opportunities, special events hosted by nonprofits and wonder why it is so important to go into great debt as a community just to have "more." People will always go out of town to events. A new events center will not prevent or change that fact.

  One additional fact to consider is that the revenues from any center, unless built by a local entity, will go out of town. Unlike dollars produced by agriculture or local businesses, these developers have no stake in our community other than to make money. If the center fails after being built with city financing, we will have to pay for it. If it fails with private money, it will join the large number of vacant businesses that already line our main streets and malls.

BOBBI McDERMOTT
Yuma