Hotel room occupancy taxes, sales taxes, car-rental fees, parking taxes, meal taxes, airport access fees, tolls, and development fees are the revenue sources most commonly used to repay the debt service. In addition, these tax sources are frequently used to finance ongoing operating and marketing needs of the facility. The mix of revenue sources selected in any given case depends upon the comparative level of existing taxes or fees, as well as what is considered to be both fair and feasible under the unique political and economic circumstances of each development.
Buffalo faces extremely difficult fiscal pressures.
A high level of commitment and a coordinated community-wide effort that includes both the public sector and private sector is necessary to successfully fund this project. The primary type of convention center financing mechanisms are described below. Pay as you go financing - Projects that are relatively small or that are financed in municipalities with rapidly growing tax bases are sometimes paid for directly out of appropriated funds. The majority of facilities, however, are financed with long-term debt so that the payment of capital cost corresponds to the period over which the facility is used and its economic benefits are realized. General Obligation Bond Financing - Long term bonding using the general obligation of the Sate, either directly as part of a capital outlay program or as guaranteed debt of an authority, would provide a strong credit and relatively low borrowing costs for the project.