San Antonio city council moves forward on a new arena based on “useless”, “incomplete” & “inadequate” economic report
This week, the city of San Antonio, Texas, voted to move forward with the November election that will decide the fate of the $1.3 billion arena (and other projects), called Project Marvel. This week, the team contacted every media outlet that it could find to discuss how great this deal was for the city. So residents heard that this deal will create $10 billion in direct spending! Or that it will create $350 million in new taxes for the city! Sounds great. Except, it is all bull. These numbers…
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In Oklahoma, some believe that an ownership group is proving their “commitment” to the area when they pay just 5% for a $900M new arena
In the NBA, the value of teams is rising at a rather insane pace. In 2006, the current owners of the Thunder bought the team for $350M. Now, the value of the team hovers around $3.5B. But that doesn't matter because these owners are committed to the area. Right? Some have even claimed that these owners bring a “tremendous selflessness” towards the team and city.
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St. Louis City SC owners do not need or want public money…just the many millions of taxpayer dollars they get every year
Washington University in St. Louis wrote a piece titled “Stadiums don’t have to be a drain on taxpayer dollars − 4 lessons from St. Louis”. This article was pushed to any outlet willing to publish it. Here it is retitled “St. Louis MLS Stadium Offers Alternative to Taxpayer-Funded Sports Venues.” Here are the authors pushing the article in local newspaper comment sections titled “How to build a stadium and keep taxpayers happy.” I have to read this article and understand how these Saints owners…
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Years later, Columbus taxpayers continue to be used and abused by the Blue Jackets
Just last year, the FCCFA spent $13.1 million in taxpayer money on arena projects such as a roof replacement, a cooling tower installation, a fire alarm system replacement and more. Yet if we come back to today, the FCCFA executive directory admits that recently released plans are “still being worked out” in negotiations that have involved the “team, its private partners and city, Franklin County and state officials”...just not the public. When asked by WOSU about the finances of these…
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Santa Clara is not spending taxpayer money on the World Cup. Wait, yes they are
For those who don't know, Levi Stadium in Santa Clara was selected to be one of 16 cities hosting World Cup games in 2026. The six games at Levi Stadium will be played between June 13 and July 1 of next year. Considering how contentious the history has been between the San Francisco 49ers and the city of Santa Clara, I figured something would blow up with this event. Then I recently saw this headline in the San Jose spotlight (“Santa Clara isn’t spending taxpayer money on World Cup upgrades”)…
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“Business groups” in Kansas City push local officials to build the Royals a new ballpark…without disclosing the Royals connections to the groups
When the Kansas City Royals tried to garner some support for the sales tax vote last year, they paid a company, Jones Lang LaSalle, a Chicago-based real estate company, to write and release an economic impact report on a potential ballpark. But, it didn't take long for problems to come out of this idea. The Royals paid Jones Lang LaSalle to write this report without caring or realizing that Jones Lang LaSalle had no experience with economic impact reports for ballparks or even sports venues.…
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Now that the Buffalo Bills have a new stadium, they want locals to please shut up and be happy with whatever the team gives them
One of the local leaders who helped draft the CBA is now outright stating that the Buffalo Bills are going against what is found in the CBA. It is difficult to see how she isn't correct here. The Bills would not stop talking about how much they would include the community when it comes to giving back to the area. Now? Shut up and take whatever it is that we give you. If the Bills think that these types of statements will allow them to invest more into the community, they have quite the surprise…
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The Anaheim Angels must keep their ballpark in “first class” condition. Why can’t cities & counties use the Angels definition of first-class?
The Anaheim Angels need to be held to the same standard as sports teams holding their cities when the government handles the facility. However, it shouldn't come as much of a surprise to see some local leaders appearing to give the team ways out of their lease agreement. Others suggest the ballpark is, in fact, a first-class ballpark right now. One City Councilman told a local media outlet that the lease agreement to him seemed “vague” and that he believes the team has “met its…
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The San Francisco 49ers promise to pay for all World Cup expenses…somewhat…kind of…maybe?
Last week, the San Francisco 49ers publicly vowed to cover Santa Clara’s expenses for the World Cup games. The 49ers will use money that they received from their NFL operations to cover the costs. One estimate claims that it will cost Santa Clara about $50M to stage the games. Except, as the mayor reminded everyone, the 49ers promised to only cover all “approved costs”. That can be interpreted many ways, considering the terrible history between the 49ers and the mayor. Keep in mind that the…
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Headlines say that the Baltimore Ravens “are spending $50M more” on stadium upgrades, forget the public’s $434M share
Even better, the money for the Baltimore Ravens will come from Maryland's state lottery funds, which “otherwise would go to the state’s general fund”. For those who don't know, the general fund for cities and states is the “predominant fund for financing a state's operations”. It is the primary operating fund of a government and accounts for activities including public safety, street maintenance, community services, police, fire, and other things. Thankfully, nobody cares about those…
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