By Mike Genet mike.genet@examiner.net
The Falls at Crackerneck Creek development has been a financial albatross for the city of Independence for a dozen years. City officials are mulling how best to keep the tax-assisted project from being worse.
Financial advisers for the city have proposed taking advantage of historically cheap bond interest rates through refinancing and continuing to use funds from other more-lucrative development areas to support what’s commonly known as the Bass Pro TIF (tax increment financing).
Bryan Kidney, director of finance and administration, and bond advisers say the refinancing deal should go before the City Council in the next month or two. If the deal goes through, It would be the third time the bonds have been refinanced for the development that started shortly before the Great Recession of 2008-09 includes and surrounds Bass Pro Shops near Interstate 70 and Missouri 291.
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‘Eatertainment’ and casual dining veteran to oversee customer experience
Main Event Entertainment LP, the Plano, Texas-based family eatertainment brand, has named Tony Wehner chief operating officer. He replaces Rob Viveros, who left the company last summer.
Most recently, Wehner was chief executive officer of another eatertainment concept, BigShots Golf, and before that he was COO of casual-dining chain Bar Louie. He also spent 16 years at casual-dining chain On the Border in various operations and sales roles, according to a release from Main Event announcing his appointment.
“We are thrilled to have Tony join our team at such a crucial and exciting time for our business,” Main Event CEO Chris Morris said in the release. “His passion for the entertainment and hospitality industry is exactly what we were looking for in a leader, and his pedigree of building world-class teams is an asset we are very fortunate to be adding to our team as we enter 2021.”
The net value for Main Event Entertainment Group Limited slipped as conditions caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) impacted the company’s operations.
Shareholders’ equity or the company’s net value, slid by eight per cent to $533.61 million at year-end. This compares to net value of $ 578.84 million at October 2019.
Total assets of $854.12 million at year-end October 31, 2020, declined by 17 per cent year-over-year down from $1 billion at the end of the 2019 year.
Directors, in remarks attached to the year’s financials, indicate that the company has been confronted with unprecedented reductions in business activity which has had a major impact on revenues, and in turn, net earnings for the financial year.