Delaware County officials agreed to contribute $30 million, in exchange for ownership of the land and stadium through a county sports authority. The investor group, led by Jay Sugarman, chief executive of New York-based iStar Financial, is now waiting for the state to chip in.
"That's what's holding it up," Kopp said of the state funding. "Everything else is in place."
There was some good news yesterday out of Harrisburg, where the Senate Appropriations Committee authorized spending $45 million on the Chester stadium and other area projects.
The $115 million stadium would be built on about 12 acres just south of the Commodore Barry Bridge. Construction would last an estimated 18 months and would create 1,000 construction jobs. Another 360 full-time jobs would be created once it is complete, Delaware County Council Chairman Andrew Reilly said last month.
The project has the backing of Gov. Rendell and Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi - the former mayor of Chester - but a funding deal might not be easy.
Yesterday's authorization was not a commitment to spend the money. Technically, the state doesn't even have most of the cash, because its redevelopment assistance fund is maxed out.
"There are significantly more projects on the list than will be funded, so just the fact that it's on the list does not necessarily mean that it will be funded," Rendell spokesman Chuck Ardo said.
Rendell is calling on the Senate to raise the state's debt limit to free up money for the 20,000-seat stadium. Until that happens, Ardo said, "the governor is restricted to giving moral support."
Pileggi has said he favors providing state funding for the project, but negotiations are under way to determine how much.
