Hartford officials are asking the state legislature for help with the city’s minor league baseball park.
Legislation before the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee would divert to Hartford’s coffers a 10 percent state admissions tax from the Downtown North stadium, which is set to debut next year.
The city would use those funds to help pay down the debt incurred for construction of the $56 million venue.
Mayor Pedro E. Segarra was slated to testify in support of the bill Monday along with Councilwoman Cynthia R. Jennings and Darrell V. Hill, the city’s chief operating officer.
In written testimony published Monday morning, Segarra said the measure could mean $426,000 a year for Hartford.
He said the bill would simply distribute the venue-collected funds back to the city, rather than create a special allocation from the general fund or require contributions from residents who don’t attend games.
More than 70 residents filed testimony opposing the transfer of state funds back to the city.Â
The admissions tax is charged to various venues across the state, though some, including the XL Center in Hartford and Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, have been exempted from the tax.
The XL Center exemption was estimated to cost the state approximately $1 million this fiscal year.
