Nationwide Arena, which turns a small operating profit and is the home of the Columbus Blue Jackets, would consider imposing a "user fee" if major repairs were needed.

Don Brown, executive director of the Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority, said Wednesday that a ticket tax would be considered to make those who use the arena pay for any big-dollar repairs.

"What we're not comfortable with is the Black Swan event," Brown said, using a metaphor for a surprise event that would shred the already tight arena finances.

The discussion of finances for Nationwide Arena came a day before Columbus Arena Management (CAM), which operates and manages the facility, holds its only public meeting of 2017. That meeting Thursday will focus on the arena's finances for 2018.

The arena is making enough money to operate. It's not making enough for big repairs or to repay the original $42.5 million loan from a subsidiary of Nationwide Insurance, which the authority used to buy the arena. That loan, with interest, today has grown to $58.4 million and, if no payments are made, will total $98.6 million by 2029.

"Nationwide has been a very, very good civic partner," Brown said. "They have a patient philosophy."

A vacant or floundering arena in the heart of the part of the city where Nationwide Insurance has its headquarters and property interests in the successful Arena District would benefit no one, Brown said. A healthy arena adds credibility to a growing reputation of Columbus as a big-time player and helps attract major music acts and other entertainment options, he noted.

"The city can't consider itself itself a (top) tier city without a Downtown arena," Brown said.

The arena will turn a $1.5 million profit on operations this year, increasing the authority's rainy day fund to $3.4 million, just below its goal of $4 million. It expects similar finances in 2018.

That, though, is because $4 million of its $24.6 million revenue (16 percent) in 2017 came from casino tax revenue provided by Franklin County and the city of Columbus. Without that public contribution, the arena would have a $2.5 million deficit for 2017. Columbus pays 71 percent of casino revenue for the arena; Franklin County pays 39 percent.

Those public casino proceeds pay for arena operations and capital expenses. If there is any left, they pay toward the Nationwide loan debt. So far, none of that loan debt has been paid.

Under the purchase contract, "the city does not have the obligation to pay off that debt," Columbus Auditor Hugh Dorrian said.

The problem, Dorrian noted, is that the casino revenue from the city and county are half of what was projected when the deal was made.

As part of the arena deal, the state provided $10 million. Half of that is a loan forgivable if the arena meets specific benchmarks for number of jobs and revenue. It meets those benchmarks, Brown said, and $5 million is scheduled to be forgiven by 2021.

If there is a significant repair needed, Brown said, money would first come from the three arena stakeholders: The Blue Jackets, Nationwide and Ohio State University, which is part of the deal because CAM jointly operates the Nationwide Arena and Schottenstein Center. Each would have to put in up to $250,000 per year. If expenses exceeded that amount, a ticket tax could be necessary.

kperry@dispatch.com

@kimballperry