The vote was forced by allegations of conflict of interest. A member of the board that oversees the city's redevelopment agency and the Padres, Harold "Gil" Johnson, bought Padres merchandise wholesale and resold it in his retail shops at Lindbergh Field and other locations.
Although Centre City Development Corp. lawyers advised Johnson repeatedly that he did not have a conflict of interest, independent attorneys evaluating the city's bond transaction recommended Johnson sever the ties with the Padres and advised the agency and city council to re-approve the ballpark agreements.
The Centre City board re-ratified its ballpark contracts in a unanimous vote on Thursday, with Johnson abstaining. He will participate in future discussions and votes on the ballpark issue, however.
The deal calls for the city to sell $170 million in bonds to help finance its $206 million portion of the ballpark redevelopment.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.
Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
*May exclude premium content© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
