New York Sports Stadiums: Fields of Dreams or Schemes?

[marmar]

from the Drum Major Institute's blog:



Mark Winston Griffith
New York Sports Stadiums: Fields of Dreams or Schemes?


Sometimes you have to wonder just how far American cities are willing to go in order to accommodate sports stadiums. Several studies have concluded that stadiums add little, if anything to local economies.

But throughout the country, pro sports owners seem to hold municipal leaders in a trance, boldly and routinely demanding whopping public subsidies while they line their own pockets. Just this week the Yankees ownership asked the city to sell an additional $350 million in tax-exempt bonds. The Independent Budget Office estimated that the city, state and federal governments would lose $60 million in revenue because of the lower interest rate payments that the Yankees would make on the bonds. Earlier this year, Bruce C. Ratner indicated that he was looking to raise $800 million through tax-exempt bonds.

The only problem is that the IRS has proposed rules that would make it "perhaps impossible", a New York Times article concluded, for sports teams to use this kind of financing. "If adopted, the I.R.S. rule would apply to all tax-exempt bonds issued after February 2007," the Times reported. And in case you haven't noticed, the Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn are poised to receive new sports stadiums, all subsidized on the public dime.

Translation: Shea Stadium, Yankee Stadium, but especially the proposed Nets stadium, already named the Barclay's Center, may be in deep doo-doo.

Tax-exempt financing is designed of course to grease the wheels of economic development. Which is fine, assuming the local economy is actually benefiting. The problem is that the term "economic development" is used so loosely that any set of buildings erected by a developer is proposed in the context of the public good.

A World Series or NBA championship would make for great bragging rights. But would it make for a healthier and more prosperous city for all New Yorkers?


http://www.dmiblog.com/archives/2008/06/new_york_sports_stadiums_field.html

[Captain Hilts]

1. Taxpayer-supported stadiums are welfare for the wealthy...

and I love my Mets and think Shea's a rathole.

But these things are a racket - Philly and Pittsburgh voted against theirs and got them anyway.

Football stadiums are a COMPLETE WASTE as they're barely used 20 times a year - at least a baseball stadium has at least 80 dates not counting concerts, etc.

[Carnea]

2. So the Tampa Bay Rays need a new stadium...

The team is relatively hated in their home town and honestly people would rather use the money for something else. (Police to crack down on crime. Housing for the homeless. That kind of thing) Plus who wants the traffic and other issues. And while Rays games themselves attract hundreds of extra people to the downtown area other events could attract thousands like a scrabble tournament or religious revival. And lets face it Downtown has enough people we don't need out of town visitors taking the good parking.

Anywho the team is desperate and yet mysteriously winning

Here are the current standings

Boston 44 28 .611
Tampa Bay 40 29 .580
NY Yankees 37 33 .529
Baltimore 34 34 .500
Toronto 35 36 .493

Here are the standing from May 31st last year when the Rays aren't looking for 40 million in free money

ALE W L GB WP RS RA
Boston 36 16 - .692 280 201
Baltimore 27 27 10.0 .500 243 229
Toronto 25 28 11.5 .472 239 245
Tampa Bay 22 29 13.5 .431 237 311
NY Yankees 22 29 13.5 .431 268 244

http://baseballchurch.blogspot.com/2008/05/standings-for-may-31-2007-division.html


So the Devil Rays went from .472 ball (normal for them) to .580 ball with no new stars or significant increase in payroll. The only difference between this year and last? They have a public referendum to give the Rays owners a lot of free money....

Not that makes one wonder

[lurky]

3. Let 'em go.

Seriously, how much does a sports franchise really contribute to the economic well-being of a major city? Los Angeles lost both its football teams and it hasn't sunk into the ocean. Sure, it's a bummer for the fans, but let's keep some perspective when the teams come around looking for their next handout. Face it, the pro sports business has become an elaborate scam for bleeding cities of their scarce resources.

What do you think would have a greater benefit for the city of New York -- using its citizens' tax money to improve the crumbling subways or the disastrously bad school system? Or giving more of it away to the Yankees and the Mets? If they want to move to some other sucker-city that gets all starry-eyed when a sports team comes knocking, so be it.