The Escambia County Commission has staff drafting an agreement for a Southern Professional Hockey League team to be owned by Tim Kerr to lease the Pensacola Civic Center.
Now people get upset that Quint Studer lives on Pensacola Beach and has only lived here for 15 years. Kerr lives in New Jersey where he owns Tim Kerr’s PowerPlay Reality.
People get upset because the Pensacola Pelicans are not affiliated with a major league franchise. Neither are any of the SPHL teams.
The county staff estimates the County will lose over $200,000 if the final agreement is as the one Kerr proposed. It will have to spend nearly $250K to get the Civic Center ready to host the games.
Maybe the County should require Kerr to sign a 10-year lease, like Studer; personally guarantee the lease regardless if he still owns the team or the team plays any games, like Studer; and take out a life insurance policy naming the county as the beneficiary to cover the lease, like Studer.
Maybe the County should require Kerr to give all profits from the team to the Civic Center, like Studer. Maybe the County should require Kerr to pay $250,000 to the Civic Center for the next five years if there are no profits, like Studer.
Maybe the County should have Kerr build a $12-million office building in the nearby Technology Park and move his real estate company to Pensacola.