From Staff Reports

GREENVILLE, S.C. — A plan for Greenville County Council to raise $70 million — via a bond — to fund a portion of a massive renovation of the Bon Secours Wellness Arena was “pulled” from its agenda before its Aug. 20 meeting, Greenville-based television station FOX Carolina reported on Aug. 19.

Initially, council was scheduled to discuss the arena’s request for a $70 million bond at its meeting, FOX Carolina noted, adding that “‘The Well’ (as the BSWA is often referred to) is seeking a total of $170 million in funding from different sources for its revitalization program.

“The Greenville County bond request has faced backlash as it would mean a 20-year tax increase for people in the arena district, which is spread out over the county,” the TV station added.

Meanwhile, in a newsletter, Councilman Benton Blount wrote the following about the bond request:

“I do greatly appreciate that the management of the arena has decided to pause and gather more community feedback before moving forward with this bond. It shows they’re listening to the concerns of citizens who are worried about the economy and the impact of yet another tax.”

Meanwhile, in a July 8 report, FOX Carolina stated, “The Well, the No. 13 top-selling arena in the country, said (its) concert sales are up nearly 23 percent since 2018 — outperforming Atlanta, Charlotte and Columbia, so far this year.

The overall $170 million proposal “included plans for updating concession stands, restrooms, hospitality areas, ADA amenities, locker rooms, star dressing rooms, seats and the scoreboard,” the TV station noted.

“The arena has requested a $70 million dollar bond from Greenville County Council to help pay for it. Other funding sources would be the city accommodations tax and money from the state.”

If the bond had been approved, Fox Carolina stated, “it would mean a 20-year tax increase for people living in what’s considered the ‘arena district’ — which is spread out all over the county. For example, a $200,000 property assessment value would jump from about $2 to $15 annually.”

If funding had been secured, Beth Paul, the arena’s general manager, told FOX Carolina that “the renovations would start quickly, and you could see enhancements this time next summer.”

Further, the TV station quoted Paul as saying, “We want to continue to be a great partner to our community, a great investment for the taxpayers, and somewhere (that) people can come enjoy for a really, really long time to come, and in order to do that, we need to revitalize, and we need to invigorate.”

Prior to nixing the $70 in spending request, council had discussed expanding the arena district to include the entire county, which, FOX Carolina noted, “could mean every resident would share the tax burden of paying off the bond.”