Tag: Non-Disclosure Agreement

Arena Ballpark Stadium

Will news sites ever properly label people who are clearly biased or have an interest in the venue?

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 this was an actual opinion piece or essentially an advertisement by a financially biased individual/group. It is the latter. Before we go into that,…

William Neilson Jr.
Stadium

Kansas City Chiefs relocation deal still unknown, company hired to do their economic report has questionable past

Essentially, the state of Kansas allows for lawmakers to use a “special incentive program” that was started just two years ago to fund a project like the Kansas City Chiefs. The lawmaker who wrote this law (not including language allowing for the public to vote) claims that the public doesn't need to vote since the sales tax is not increasing. I really do hope that this politician understands that while the sales tax will not increase, the money that it brought in to MANY state functions (like public education, facilities, etc...) will now be diverted to the Chiefs project.…

William Neilson Jr.
Arena

As the San Antonio Spurs insist on a tax election this spring, they continue hiding almost all of the arena costs and details

Do people remember how the San Antonio Spurs tried to get a new arena built in 1999? One of their brilliant proposals included a plan to take money away from elementary schools that were teaching children on an already bare-bones budget. Screw the kiddies! Build it! Furthermore, it wasn't that long ago when San Antonio taxpayers gave the team over $100 million dollars for a massive renovation of the arena. I wonder what happened to those upgrades. At the very least, let us be happy that the team wants to leave their current arena for the right reasons. Their…

William Neilson Jr.
Arena Ballpark Stadium

The absurdity of non-disclosure agreements, sports and taxpayer money

The San Antonio Spurs want a new arena. That isn't new or shocking news. But if you want actual news on this subject? Good luck.  For the last year or so, the Spurs and city officials have kept every possible detail out of public view if it pertains to a new arena. No discussions. No interviews. Just silence. Now, will taxpayers end up paying quite a bit? Sure. But they won't know about it until a deal is done first. How can this be legal? We are talking about taxpayer money. We are talking about city officials and negotiators...the…

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, FIFA ignored them. Cities had to decide whether they could figure out a number of huge and unpredictable costs without FIFA help.

William Neilson Jr.