Letter: If Link is so great, private business should pay

There is no guarantee that The Link would be successful in attracting high-value talent to its stage. There is no guarantee that the seats would be filled. There is no guarantee a new ice rink would ever have enough skaters to pay for itself, nor the expanded convention center have events to fill the new space.

There is no guarantee that food and service businesses would flock to the area, and there is no guarantee they would create the number of jobs projected by its supporters. There is no guarantee the projected increase in sales and hospitality taxes would really materialize.

What is guaranteed is that if this were such a great idea, private enterprise would do it themselves — without taxpayer support. What is guaranteed is that the financial risk of this $45 million project does not lie upon private enterprise, but rather the taxpayers. What is guaranteed is higher taxes would line the pockets of VenuWorks, the company that manages the Three Rivers Convention Center and is the prime sponsor and supporter of this proposition.

This story was originally published October 20, 2017 at 4:51 PM with the headline "Letter: If Link is so great, private business should pay."