INDIANAPOLIS -- Mayor Bart Peterson on Saturday said that although further negotiations are needed on the governor's plan to finance a new Colts stadium, he will stand behind the part that calls for new or increased restaurant taxes in the Indianapolis area.

---

Slideshow: See Proposed Stadium
Your Thoughts: New Stadium, Expanded Convention Center?

---

Peterson said he believed that the plan, which also would help finance an expansion of the Indiana Convention Center, could move the projects forward.

"This is a very big moment. We've worked a long time," Peterson told reporters. "A lot of people in this office and a lot of people across this city and state have worked together for a long, long time to make this possible, and this is a breakthrough moment."

Under the plan, the seven counties surrounding Indianapolis would be asked to pass a 1 percent restaurant tax. A portion of that revenue would go to the two projects.

The plan also would allow Marion County, which contains Indianapolis, to boost its food and beverage tax from 1 percent to 2 percent. That new money also would support the stadium and convention center projects.

Indianapolis leaders are seeking a new stadium and a convention center expansion, and they say the city risks losing both the Colts and valuable conventions if something isn't done this year.

City leaders hope to expand the Indiana Convention Center into the spot where the RCA Dome, the Colts' current home, now sits.

Peterson had proposed that the state allow expanded gambling to help pay for the projects, but the idea was rejected by key legislators.