The Toronto mayor's executive committee has given its support to a plan to lease a parking lot to the Toronto Tempo for $1 a year to build a practice facility for the expansion women's basketball team. The deal would see the city lose out on about half a million dollars in parking revenue and take on about $800,000 in new operational costs.
Mayor Olivia Chow expressed her enthusiasm for the deal, stating that the Tempo is "not just a basketball team, it's a dream for tens of thousands of young girls and moms and Torontonians coming true." The committee heard from city bureaucrats that the value of the Tempo's "investment," in the form of a $100-million basketball facility, would be greater than the market value of the land.
However, an executive in the real estate industry questioned the upside to the city and its taxpayers in the Tempo deal. The executive estimated that the true value of the land could be between $10 million and $15 million, and that there would be limited uses for the parcel of land due to its location and potential environmental concerns.
The deal requires the Tempo to develop parkland at the site and allow some public access to recreation programming at the facility. While the city won't say how greatly it values the land, Mayor Chow downplayed its importance, describing it as a "really ugly parking lot."
The Tempo's president, Teresa Resch, described the team as "diverse, inclusive and proudly global," and said that the team is like the city itself. Councillor Amber Morley, who once dreamed of playing in the WNBA, also expressed her support for the deal, stating that it would bring a "true win-win" for the city.
The deal is still subject to city council approval, and will be voted on at the end of the month. If approved, the city would lose out on about half a million dollars in parking revenue, but the Tempo would provide the city with $2 million in year five of the lease.
City manager Paul Johnson said that the Tempo was having an "absolute impact" on the area around the Coca-Cola Coliseum, where they play 22 home games a season. However, an expert told the Toronto Sun that the city may be on the hook for the cost of making the land at 701 Fleet St. suitable for parkland due to potential environmental concerns.
