Yesterday, I saw an opinion piece in the Sports Business Journal. The point of the piece was just how great the World Cup will make our stadiums look for future events. The article claims that the current stadiums that are hosting World Cup matches shortly are all in top-notch form and can handle any future “World Cup (matches), Super Bowl(s) & specialty events, concerts, and more.” About here is where I started to wonder whether…
Read More Now, the Portland Trail Blazers would like some of that money. According to OregonLive, the Blazers want an “estimated $20 million per year” to be given to them “from the state’s general fund.” The team claims that this allows them to start a $600 million renovation of the current arena. However, as OregonLive notes, the Blazers' situation is not similar to last year's MLB giveaway. The NBA team's players/staff have already been paying “into the…
Read More 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…
Read More Lately, we have seen virtually every minor league team tell their local jurisdictions that they require millions of taxpayer dollars for upgrades to their ballparks. They require it quickly too because Major League Baseball has given us a date…or else! This forced many cities to give money to the teams without much, if any, examination of the actual details. As Ballpark Digest noted in a story, this is why a number of minor league teams…
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