1994's MEGA-ISSUE

The New England Patriots will still play football in the area. But in this election year, the proposal to build them a new home, the Megaplex--a 70,000 seat stadium with a massive convention center, promises to be...

BOSTON--The owner of the New England Patriots may have guaranteed that the team won't move, but the proposal for Boston's Megaplex--a $700 million, 70,000 seat domed stadium--is still a mega-issue in the region.

If built, the stadium would house the Patriots, who currently play in Foxborough, 45 minutes to the south of Cambridge. And the convention space--650,000 square feet's worth--would be used to attract large conventions that officials say cannot currently be held in Boston because its facilities are too small.

Proponents of the Megaplex argue that the new space could attract a Democratic National Convention in addition to annual gatherings by big groups such as the American Medical Association. In the long-run, the dreams of the proposal's backers are bigger--an NCAA basketball Final Four, a Super Bowl and maybe even the Olympics.

For future Harvard students, the Megaplex, which is unlikely to be completed before the end of the millenium, would mean that National Football League games are only a T-ride away in South Boston.

But Cambridge politicos are divided on the issue, which was put on the legislative back burner since new Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who owns the Foxborough stadium where the team now plays, has not publicly stated his position on the Megaplex.

In Cambridge, state house representives oppose the idea, while city leaders are divided over the proposal.

The mayor and many business leaders cite the positive spill-over effects on the city's tourist industry and job market. Opponents, however, are concerned that the economic benefits might not outweigh the inconveniences, such as increased city traffic.

And in a gubernatorial election year, the issue of the super stadium has only gotten bigger, with business and community leaders vying for the attention of campaigning politicians.

Opposition on the Hill

Cambridge's most prominent representatives on Beacon Hill are opposed to the idea.

"It's a question of the Megaplex instead of [another project]...and whether you can gain better economic impact by doing something else," says House Speaker Charles F. Flaherty (D-Cambridge).

But when it comes to playing politics with the Megaplex, it's easy to fumble. Flaherty, in fact, has gotten himself into a mega-political bind over the issue. Flaherty authored the Megaplex legislation, but now has emerged as one of the most vocal opponents of his own bill.

"I'm a skeptic," he now says.

State Rep. Alvin E. Thompson (D-Cambridge) says that if a stadium is to be built, it should be funded privately. Even so, he is not convinced that the Megaplex will attract the hoardes of people its proponents claim it will.

"Can we guarantee that a Megaplex will work?" Thompson asks. "There is no guarantee that conventions will come."

Thompson says he is less concerned about the Megaplex's possible impact on the region than the effects, whether positive or negative, the project might have on his home district.

"Why should I support a Megaplex in Boston if Cambridge gets nothing?" Thompson asks.

But in what may be either a bid for political support or honest concern about the Cambridge economic climate, Boston leaders are trying to make an important link: what's good for Beantown is good for its neighbor across the river.

Patrick B. Moscaritolo, president of Greater Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau, Inc., likens the neighboring cities to "the left and right bank in Paris."

"We could never make bids on meetings without Boston and Cambridge together," Moscaritolo says. "When you're selling delegates [on a convention site], you're selling them on the lure that Cambridge has."

Early indications are that Moscaritolo could be letting Cambridge in on a piece of a considerable financial pie.

A Coopers and Lybrand feasibility study cited by the Greater Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau projects that the Megaplex will create $1.1 billion in business annually in Massachusetts.

That would translate into an additional $71 million in annual tax revenues and 13,000 new permanent jobs.

A Price Waterhouse Study projects $1.4 billion in increased business annually $67 million in increased annual tax revenue, and new employment for 21,000 people.

According to Moscaritolo, the Megaplex would create "a wide range of jobs--marketing, advertising, hotels--because of the ripple effects."

Employed constituents are happy constituents, and some Cambridge politicians have taken an unabashed liking to the project.

Support Across the River

The Megaplex would "bring in subsidiary business [to Cambridge] that has a significant impact on the tax base--meetings fill hotels and bring in taxes," says Cambridge Mayor Kenneth E. Reeves '72.

"The hotel tax in Cambridge goes partly to help public schools," Reeves notes. And he adds, "Boston has been outclassed in terms of major cities because we have no facilities to house large conventions."

Gerald W. Oldach, executive director of the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce, sees a boon for city businesses that cater to tourists.

"Cambridge restaurants, hotels and businesses would benefit," says Oldach. "When people come to visit Boston, they come to Cambridge, especially Harvard Square."

William A. Sage, president of the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce, says he believes in an economic "domino theory" that will make a Megaplex in Boston profitable for entrepreneurs in Cambridge.

"If you have a large convention in Boston, there are not enough hotel rooms in Boston, so people have to come to Cambridge," says Sage, who is also executive vice president of his family's Sage hotel chain.

While those in the city business community are warm to the idea, more liberal city leaders seem skeptical.

Cambridge City Councillor Francis H. Duehay '55 says the Megaplex would be "good for the regional economy" but would have "no particular effect on the Cambridge economy."

He says he believes the Magaplex should be privately funded.

David R. Leslie '69, executive director of Cambridge Civic Association, says his organization will not study or take a stand on the Megaplex because it has "no direct impact on Cambridge."

But Leslie says he has personal concerns about the inconveniece a new facility might cause.

"I am concerned about anything that is going to overburden the infrastructure," Leslie says. "A lot of traffic will want to come through Cambridge."

"This is not to say that there aren't tons of advantages," he adds.

A Political Hot Potato

The Megaplex promises to be 1994's most divisive political issue in a statewide election year in which Gov. William F. Weld '66 is up for re-election.

Still, a State House Ways and Means Committee hearing on the issue last month revealed that the success or failure of the proposal may turn on financial details such as the number of state bond issues and the feasibility of legalizing gambling in the Commonwealth.

Weld, who lives in Cambridge, has been leading the push for the Megaplex. he dispatched his cabinet secretaries to the January 18 hearing in the State House's Gardner Auditorium.

"Boston and Massachusetts are losing untold numbers of conventions because we don't have the facilities to hold them," Weld Press Secretary Virginia Buckingham said in an interview at the State House.

The Ways and Means Committee chair, Thomas M. Finnerman (D-Mattapan), said at the hearing's outset that there are "serious questions that need to be answered."

Finnerman said he was leery of incurring more debt because Massachusetts already has the fourth highest per-capita debt of any state in the US.

He cites other bond issues, including those for prisons, transportation, open space, housing and low level radioactive waste. and says, "if and when we add the Megaplex to that, it becomes so heavy that the ship begins to sink."

"People are having trouble feeding their families, and what's this gonna do for the people back home?" chimed in State Rep. William G. Reinstein (D-Revere).

Interviewed at the State House, Thompson, the Cambridge represenative, said he agrees with Finnerman that the Megaplex cannot be funded by bonds alone. Bonds were used, Thompson noted, both for the recent expansion of the Hynes Convention Center and for construction of the new Boston Garden. "How much can we bond?" Thompson asked.

Weld and others have suggested that a ticket tax of up to 10 percent could be used to help repay the bond debts. An alternative proposal is to legalize gambling and use proceeds from it to help fund the proposal.

Big City Status

For a major tourist city, Boston ranks surprisingly low in convention space. According to the Greater Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau, Boston's convention facilities now rate 41st in the nation. And that rank is falling as other cities expand their meeting areas.

Moscaritolo said the Megaplex would "make Boston a center of conventions like Paris is the center for fashion."

Boston politicians are already feeling pressure from business leaders to make Boston a mecca for conventions.

"If Boston is to remain a viable contender as a world-class city, it has to offer sufficient exhibition space," says Roger S. Berkowitz, owner of Legal Seafoods and president of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association.