Two months ago, it was announced that the city of Calgary and the Calgary Flames, their NHL team, had come to an agreement to build a new arena for just the low, low price of $1.22 billion. This comes after last year's failed arena deal where the Flames decided to pull out of the deal.
Category: Arena
Chicago has $700M left in debt payments for Solider Field, Hotel Tax revenues falter
Last week, Crain's Chicago Business had a good article discussing the financial issues that the city is facing with the current Bears stadium. Even though the Bears are trying to scam another city into paying for a new stadium, their current one continues to cost the city of Chicago millions of dollars. Basically, the city… Continue reading Chicago has $700M left in debt payments for Solider Field, Hotel Tax revenues falter
Why on earth did Cleveland agree to fund repairs for the Cavaliers arena?
Cleveland. For the love of all that is holy and important. Stop agreeing to pay for all capital repairs for your sports teams. It is costing you SO MUCH MONEY. Your city already has so many financial issues to worry about. Will your local banks go bankrupt? Will your local health centers continue to lose… Continue reading Why on earth did Cleveland agree to fund repairs for the Cavaliers arena?
The San Antonio Spurs continue to milk the city for taxpayer money
The Spurs not only demanded roughly $164 million to upgrade their arena, they claimed that without this money, they wouldn't be able to “pay the player salaries”. The team even had a way of funding their next arena. Just extend the venue tax that helped fund the construction of the arena.
In the past, the Philadelphia 76ers have promised to hire locals in exchange for a new facility. They didn’t.
How could this happen? Because the 76ers were not required to hire Camden residents for the practice facility. This happens across the country. This site has written about instances where a sports team promises but does not deliver on hiring local workers. Why didn't the city mandate this before giving out the taxpayer money? Because New Jersey’s Economic Development Authority did not require a community benefit agreement for the Camden project. Just looking into this deal is mind-boggling. For example, the deal required the creation of 250 jobs at the site, not including construction. So far, so good.
Will Saskatoon ever replace the SaskTel Centre?
Saskatoon announced that a proposed new arena would cost $178 million. If we apply 7% inflation to that number, then it now becomes $191 million in today's dollars. Except, we don't know whether construction costs, project costs or land acquisition were originally included in the cities estimate. If we include major capital projects into this project, the cost goes up towards $300 million.
Pittsburgh Penguins assure local leaders they will fulfill city commitments this time
Pittsburgh Penguins developers are demanding that a decision for a music venue must be made soon before, and let me get this straight, “international events destabilize economic calculations”. In reality, they just want the city to approve this development so that they can receive tax breaks.
Las Vegas seems addicted to handing over taxpayer money to sports teams
Las Vegas has tried several times to lure a Major League Soccer (MLS) team here with taxpayer funded options. In 2015, MLS passed on putting a new team in Las Vegas due to questions and issues about the proposed new and publicly funded stadium.
Teams continue to make millions yet want their property taxes slashed
The city assessed the property value where the arena was built along with surrounding developments at $1.7 billion for tax purposes. The Warriors are asking the city to lower that assessment by just a little.....a billion dollars, that is. The Warriors believe the property value is at $706 million for 2022, which is $1 billion less than the city's value and would save the team over $11 million in property taxes for 2022.
Calgary continues negotiations for a new stadium behind closed doors
In April 2021, the city of Calgary leased public land to a private company and promised to build a large parking lot near the agreed-upon new arena. All of this was done without the public knowing and was NOT INCLUDED in the new arena deal.