Tag: Mayor

Ballpark Stadium

In Chicago, Kansas City & Tampa Bay, sports owners are trying to push new venues without any public input or review

If you are a sports owner, massive projects should and do get agreed upon in weeks, if not a month or two…max. I have written numerous times about how almost every sports owner runs the same play every time. The sports owner will come out and demand a new stadium and mandate that a deal must be done within weeks due to…reasons unknown. If this isn't good enough, then the team will possibly relocate. The…

William Neilson Jr.
Ballpark

Why are the Tampa Bay Rays publicly crying about rising ballpark costs yet refusing to give the mayor any evidence of this financial increase?

In June 2024, the Tampa Bay Rays agreed to a $1.3 billion deal with both the city of St. Petersburg and Pinellas County. The initial numbers given to the public about costs showed that $600 million would be split between the city and county while the Rays pick up the rest, totaling $700 million. These numbers are insanely misleading for several reasons. One, they don't include the many hundred of millions that the city/county will…

William Neilson Jr.
Arena Ballpark Stadium

Chattanooga’s ballpark costs continues to rise, supporters still claim the ballpark will pay for itself

In Chattanooga, the price of their new ballpark continues to skyrocket. If you remember, two years ago, the city was facing fierce opposition from locals who didn't want to give any taxpayer money towards a new ballpark. But the city decided that this new ballpark would be a “home run for the community” and approved the deal.  This meant the city would be putting up roughly $80 million dollars for the project.

William Neilson Jr.
Stadium

Albuquerque will try to build a new soccer stadium for the 12th time thanks to support from fake groups

Over the last few years, the New Mexico United owners have really increased how often they push for a new stadium. But when you read old stories of these pushes, it is odd how often AHC is somehow involved in it. The team began play in 2018, but actually started their stadium push in 2020. In that same year, the city of Albuquerque released their yearly “Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy”. This report took input from…

William Neilson Jr.
Ballpark

Oregon State lawmakers reject $20M request by Hillsboro Hops. Team now says city should pay that money

The Hillsboro Hops are a minor league baseball team, affiliated with the Arizona Diamondbacks, in Hillsboro, Oregon. Just outside of Portland. Much like they are doing in most cities with a minor league team, Major League Baseball has told Hillsboro city leaders that their minor league teams will leave town if substantial upgrades or a new ballpark are not completed. I could post 1000 links of stories all over the country where a city is…

William Neilson Jr.
Stadium

Vancouver’s mayor plays the quiet game when asked about World Cup expenses

Last year, 16 cities, including Seattle and Vancouver, were selected to be hosts for the 2026 World Cup matches. Then FIFA told every city to just shut up if anyone asked about expenses. FIFA was tired of answering questions from cities. It is well-known that the hosting cities are expected to pay most of the costs. But when cities like Chicago, Vancouver and Minneapolis tried to get a basic level of certainty on some major unknowns,…

William Neilson Jr.
Arena

Sacramento Kings arena is losing money. MLS keeps turning down city expansion efforts. Mayor thinks more sports teams would help

Did we mention that San Diego, the city who did win the expansion team, paid a $500 million expansion fee? That is three times what their proposed stadium was supposed to cost. Yikes. The mayor also seems to enjoy telling the public how much he is doing behind the scenes. He can't just tell us because...he can't. He told the Sacramento Bee that when it comes to whether Sacramento will get an MLS team, the…

William Neilson Jr.