The 6 Million Dollar. . . movie theater?

I never really got into the Six Million Dollar Man and I sure won't be getting into this $6,000,000 Warren Theater downtown. Hopefully, I will be permanently banned for all the crap I hope to stir up. I guess I should give some context.

The Fact:
The City of Wichita approved, against the city manager's advice, a six million dollar loan at 1.25% to bail out a business which hasn't turned a profit in years. The loan is interest free for the first five years and must be repaid within 10 years.

The Story:
There's a really rich guy who lives in Wichita, KS and owns, co-owns, operates a number of movie theaters. One of these is in the downtown area and the city of Wichita decided to support this theater so fully that the success or failure of the private business venture would have an economic impact on the city. The city loaned the guy a ton of money for free, basically, and now, after years of consecutive loss, he would like another loan from the city to expand.

Ok, let's list the things that are wrong with this. First, the government (city) became directly involved in a private business venture. I don't know if this is illegal, but it certainly qualifies for irrevocably stupid. As a result of this involvement, the city stands to lose a lot of money if the business fails, and make a meager amount should the business succeed.

Second, the theater hasn't netted profit in years. It has consistently been a losing venture. However, the owners would like to tear out the sports bar (probably the only thing making money) attached to the theater and convert it into another theater. Let's see here- my lemonade stand isn't doing so well. Maybe I need more lemonade?

Third, the owners of the theater did not court any banks for the loan. None. They went straight to the city because a) they knew that no bank would invest in a company that has consistently lost money, and b) they knew that the city would give them money, because it must or stand to lose sums of money.

The lowdown:
Here's what I think about it all (but not all of what I think about it). I think that the city council of Wichita is full of morons, and I plan to hold audience with them to let them know this. I think that the owners of this downtown theater know that the theater will ultimately fail and will use this loan to buy brand new equipment which, once the theater fails, will be transferred to other, more successful theaters owned by the businessmen involved.