Stadium

The Pittsburgh Penguins & Pirates paid for their scoreboard upgrades. The Steelers are demanding that the city pay for their upgrades

The city's side, called the Pittsburgh Sports & Exhibition Authority (SEA), noted in a filing that the Pittsburgh Pirates and Penguins both paid for their scoreboard upgrades. In fact, the Pirates really did the exact same thing as the Steelers. They made the video size bigger and the picture resolution improved. In summary, the city is saying that the scoreboard upgrade was a “major expansion” rather than just a simple upgrade.

William Neilson Jr.
Stadium

The Super Bowl continues to suck cities in with false promises of economic glory

Why are cities not making more money off this big event? Because they are paying millions upon millions in expenses mandated by the NFL. In 2016, local taxpayers in San Francisco paid the bill for hosting the Super Bowl and its many off-field festivities. The NFL, a multi-billion dollar company, pays nothing, let me repeat that, nothing during Super Bowl weeks because of a deal between the city and the NFL Host Committee. If you…

William Neilson Jr.
Stadium

Chicago Bears continue to whine about their property tax

Yet even with the questions and people pre-selected, the Chicago Bears GM, Kevin Warren, still got “confrontational” and threatened people who asked questions. The original price of the Stadium and Entertainment District for the Bears new stadium was projected around $5 billion. Billionaires don't become billionaires without keeping every last cent that they can, and I can only guess that is the attitude that the Bears are taking.

William Neilson Jr.
Stadium

The Washington Redskins/Commanders have officially stopped screwing over Richmond, Virginia

The city of Richmond at this time was dealing with “revenue shortfalls” that “forced (public) schools to cut millions of dollars … forcing scores of layoffs, furloughs and other job cuts”. What better time to help out a billionaire sports owner. That year, the Washington Redskins (Commanders will be used from now on) announced that their training camp would move 100 miles south to Richmond in the following year, 2013. The agreement states that summer…

William Neilson Jr.
Stadium

Maybe the worst argument for why the city of Chicago should give the Bears all naming-rights and revenue

Yesterday, I read an interesting opinion piece in the Chicago Tribune. In it, a woman claims that the city of Chicago should just hand back naming rights money along with ownership of the Chicago Bears stadium land. Why? Because the Bears owners family is nice? I don't know. I couldn't find anything substantive or factual about her belief that the city doing this would make a single difference compared to today.

William Neilson Jr.
Ballpark

The Philadelphia Phillies will ask Clearwater for public money in two weeks. Two weeks after that. Some time later. Maybe?

The Philadelphia Phillies have a history with Clearwater, Florida. Since 1947, the Phillies spring training facility and ballpark has been found here. But over the last decade or so, the Phillies have struggled to get money out of local city leaders. In early 2019, the Phillies asked for $40 million from tourist taxes for ballpark renovations and were flatly rejected. But now they are trying again. Maybe. We think.

William Neilson Jr.
Arena

Are the Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards relocating to Arlington? No

Weeks ago, MSE met with DC leaders to discuss expensive improvements that the team wants to be done to the arena. MSE apparently went into this meeting with the hope that “the city (would) help pay for (the project) as an investment in a major economic driver in the struggling downtown”. Normally, the city is obligated legally to give the sports team whatever it wants for renovations or upgrades (see the Bengals as the king…

William Neilson Jr.
Arena

Charlotte continues to hand over public money to whatever sports team needs it. Next up, the Hornets!

Last week, Michael Jordan decided to cash out as majority owner of the Charlotte Hornets. The new owners will have an upgraded arena thanks to the city council, last week, voting to spend $215 million dollars in taxpayer money for Spectrum Center upgrades. For these upgrades, the team extended its lease until 2045. Included in this deal is not just arena upgrades. The new agreement includes plans to build a $60 million dollar practice facility.

William Neilson Jr.
Ballpark

10 years ago, Biloxi, Mississippi built a new ballpark and promised economic home-runs

The ballpark was to be built for the Biloxi Shuckers, the Class AA affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. In 2015, the city spent $36 million to build a new ballpark. Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant claimed the new ballpark “would be an economic development driver for the area”. A local foundation estimated that this new ballpark would result in “an additional $10 million annually in visitor spending”. As AL.com notes, the ballpark came with a “promise…

William Neilson Jr.
Stadium

Fort Lauderdale decides to build a previously agreed upon park and to bill Inter Miami owners

Now, Fort Lauderdale is getting ready to build a new $25 million park that will cost Inter Miami $13 million dollars (the city pays the rest) and should open by 2025. The park will include new fields for all sorts of sports and even a dog area. In addition, the city has now stopped the team from using the land for parking. The team was given a chance to pay the $1.4 million dollars in…

William Neilson Jr.
Stadium

Cincinnati apologizes for wrongly evicting thousands in the 1950s. Didn’t FC Cincinnati just do that?

A full year had not even passed since FC Cincinnati's housing promise, when the Cincinnati Enquirer found out that at least 20 people were, in fact, being displaced by the new stadium. Many more would follow, and the above two examples are ones of many that I could write about. The kicking out of the 99-year-old woman caused so much local anger that FC Cincinnati decided to keep her building in their plans, rather than…

William Neilson Jr.
Ballpark

The Kansas City Royals have managed to confuse local leaders, annoy fans & baffle local media….in their search for a new ballpark

Presently, the Kansas City Royals lease with the county allows them to make money through a ⅜-cent sales tax. If the team wants to renew or change this number, it must be done through a public vote and with the blessing of the Jackson County Legislature. It has been reported that the Legislature is still waiting for the Royals to answer the most basic questions. For example, what is the language used in the ballot?…

William Neilson Jr.
Stadium

Philadelphia Union swear that this time, the new stadium will be an economic engine for Chester residents

The Philadelphia Union, the local MLS team, will get $250,000 in county tax breaks for their new Stadium, WSFS Bank Sportsplex. Specifically, the Delaware County Council allowed the Philadelphia Union to not pay any county real estate taxes. This lasts for the next 10 years and will be done on a sliding scale that starts at the team being exempted 100% this year and down to 10% at the end. According to the city and…

William Neilson Jr.