Tag: MLB

Stadium

Applied Analysis claims Las Vegas saw a $1 billion economic impact from the Super Bowl

But maybe some readers aren't concerned about his unbelievable conflict of interest issues. Let's get to his actual past predictions. Months ago, Applied Analysis claimed in a report that the A’s could draw close to 400,000 new visitors to Las Vegas each year. A number of outlets looked into this claim and universally found that the A's have almost no chance of coming anywhere close to 400,000 yearly. Hell, some doubt they could produce half…

William Neilson Jr.
Ballpark

The Kansas City Royals screwed themselves yet still blame everyone else

The Kansas City Royals held off on telling the public about the location of their new ballpark until just months before the sales tax election. This meant that when the team did announce the location, the people who live in or around the area of this proposed ballpark were likely to be quite shocked. The Royals proposed a new ballpark on a big piece of land that at the moment had “as many as two…

William Neilson Jr.
Ballpark

St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce backs Tampa Bay Rays ballpark proposal

The Tampa Bay Rays are lucky that the package passed the city council, as it was approved barely. Apparently, language was put in very late that gave developers “more flexibility in opting out of creating affordable housing units” and gave developers a required 10%  participation from minority-owned businesses, instead of the previous language stating it was 30%. When the Community Benefits Advisory Council met to agree to the package, they had several changes that they…

William Neilson Jr.
Arena

Little Caesars Arena was going to change Detroit per the Ilitch Family, then it did nothing

Back in 2014, the city of Detroit was debating what to do with their old arena that the Detroit Red Wings played in. On one hand, they could do nothing and let the Red Wings figure out what to do on their own. On the other hand, they could give the Red Wings owners, the Ilitch Family, hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to build a new arena. When the Ilitch family initially proposed a…

William Neilson Jr.
Arena Ballpark Stadium

When Utah leaders say that taxpayers “will not” pay for a ballpark, they mean that $900 million taxpayer dollars will be used

Over the last few months, more and more stories have been popping up online that discuss whether Salt Lake City or the state of Utah should build a ballpark for some future MLB expansion team. Utah residents have therefore been asking local leaders who exactly would be paying for such a project. Rep. Ryan Wilcox, R-Ogden, has an answer. He wants residents to know that local taxpayers will not be left on base holding the…

William Neilson Jr.
Ballpark

Major League Baseball continues to extort taxpayer money out of numerous cities

Several years ago, Major League Baseball decided to eliminate numerous minor league baseball teams. They also updated the ballpark facility standards for minor league baseball teams. What does that mean exactly? What things must be upgraded or built? It is now mandatory for a ballpark to have “larger clubhouses, brighter stadium lights, covered batting and pitching tunnels and other details”. Let's not forget the price of these upgrades, which “will be quite high”.

William Neilson Jr.
Ballpark

Milwaukee continues to be given imprecise stadium info from groups that are consistently wrong

If the rumors are true, city leaders from and around Milwaukee are preparing to give the Milwaukee Brewers roughly $520 million dollars in taxpayer money to upgrade America Family Field. Over the last few years, we have seen the Brewers asking for all sorts of different amounts of public money. Last year, they were thinking of asking for just $100 million of public money. More recently, they have been asking for $300-$430 million.

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Ballpark

Anaheim Angels continue to violate their lease. Oh well, maybe next year

The facts, however, show otherwise. Since 2002, the Anaheim Angels have spent $54 million on capital repairs/improvements with $12 million coming from the city. Additionally, a number of the so-called improvement projects were just upgrades that the team wanted, such as replacing their scoreboard to a newer model. Building permits show that the Angels were spending money from their pockets so that they could buy the cool, new gadget and not the contractually obligated maintenance.

William Neilson Jr.