DeVos Tips Hand on New Arena and Future Magic's Plans

Hotel owners say if DeVos wants a new arena, he should pay for it himself. DeVos argues if the city wants to keep the Magic here, the city and the hoteliers should pay for the new court.

The billionaire co-founder of Amway home products broke his long silence on the new arena issue and the future plans for his team in off-the-cuff comments to the media before the start of the March 5 National Basketball Association game between the Magic and the Dallas Mavericks. (Orlando won, 95-81).

DeVos emphasized he was not currently scouting other national sites and has no immediate relocation plans for the team, similar points made to GlobeSt.com by Magic vice president Cari Coats in a Feb. 20 article.

But DeVos also underscored for the first time publicly that he would no longer tolerate losing an average $10 million a year for the last four years. He hinted strongly, but did not say he could stop those losses by relocating the team after the 2004 season.

If he moves the team, DeVos blames the Central Florida Hotel/Motel Association and city government leaders directly for causing him to make that decision. Rich Maladecki, president of the hospitality trade group, declined to answer DeVos's criticism while negotiations are going on for the possible construction of a new arena and finding a new use for the old arena.

Magic officials will suggest a Downtown site for a new 18,530-seat, 750,000-sf arena with a 2,100-car parking garage in April when they will also offer a plan to save the 12-year-old, $110 million, 17,250-seat TD Waterhouse Centre from demolition.

DeVos and his family contend a $200,000 consultants' study they just paid for shows that even a $200 million facelift of the 395,000-sf arena would generate only $8 million in additional gross revenue, the minimum they would accept to stay in Orlando.