In Mesa, Arizona, city officials did not want residents to know about a stadium agreement so they had a 12 minute meeting right before Thanksgiving
The day before Thanksgiving, the Mesa City Council held a 12-minute meeting (with no residents in attendance) that allowed for 80 acres of land to be classified as a “theme park district.” Moving forward, this land will now be called “Palo District.” The big prize of this deal was how it sets up for a new soccer stadium to be built on this land. For years, the city of Mesa has been trying to figure out a way to get either an MLS or NWSL soccer team to their city. When the city attorney went in…
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Port St. Lucie leaders want to build a soccer stadium at the last second
According to Port St. Lucie city leaders, this agreement “is designed to bring economic growth, entertainment, and new opportunities to the community.” In this instance, the taxpayer money given to ESC will come from the TIF revenue. However, for the last few weeks, many city leaders have been trying their best to express one specific thing: taxpayers will not pay for the stadium. This message has been expressed time and time again whenever this subject is brought up.
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Will a USL soccer stadium ever be built in Des Moines, Iowa? Not with their current owner…
In January 2019, a man named Kyle Krause announced his plans to bring a United Soccer League Championship team to Des Moines, Iowa. This project included a new $60 million stadium (early draft documents show the taxpayer paying $45 million of the $60 million). Over the next few years, this project would dangle around because of disagreements between the owner and local governments. Meanwhile, local taxpayers were told very little of the actual details.
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St. Louis City SC owners do not need or want public money…just the many millions of taxpayer dollars they get every year
Washington University in St. Louis wrote a piece titled “Stadiums don’t have to be a drain on taxpayer dollars − 4 lessons from St. Louis”. This article was pushed to any outlet willing to publish it. Here it is retitled “St. Louis MLS Stadium Offers Alternative to Taxpayer-Funded Sports Venues.” Here are the authors pushing the article in local newspaper comment sections titled “How to build a stadium and keep taxpayers happy.” I have to read this article and understand how these Saints owners…
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Years later, Columbus taxpayers continue to be used and abused by the Blue Jackets
Just last year, the FCCFA spent $13.1 million in taxpayer money on arena projects such as a roof replacement, a cooling tower installation, a fire alarm system replacement and more. Yet if we come back to today, the FCCFA executive directory admits that recently released plans are “still being worked out” in negotiations that have involved the “team, its private partners and city, Franklin County and state officials”...just not the public. When asked by WOSU about the finances of these…
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“No Tax Dollars” will be spent on a New Mexico United stadium, except this $30 million and multiple other tax breaks
Let's not forget the millions spent by taxpayers at the current home of New Mexico United. When KOAT, another local news station, got their hands on a lease agreement between the team and the city, they found if a stadium was built, there would be “a lot of taxes the New Mexico United soccer club will not have to pay”. Another subsidy would come from the team being allowed to deduct “equipment purchased in the construction” from their gross receipts tax bill. What else? We don't know, and the…
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Negotiations continue to happen in secret across the country, all without the public seeing or hearing about it
This is not going to shock anyone. Sports owners hate when their plans are released and looked at intensively. Have you ever read a sports venue agreement? Try reading the Potomac Yard Economic and Fiscal Impact Study from the failed Capitals/Wizards to Alexandria, Virginia proposal. The agreements are almost impossible to read and understand unless you read these types of documents daily. This is why billionaire owners aren’t always forthcoming with initial sports venue details. A professor of…
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Forsyth County leaders should be ashamed for the taxpayer-friendly changes put into the NHL proposal
The new developer, Vernon Krause, talked to the Forsyth County Commission and had public engagement listening sessions. One commissioner called this project an “economic driver like no other...(that) will create a halo effect that will raise the County’s visibility”. Forsyth’s local leaders were on board with this plan. They even visited NHL headquarters recently. To show their commitment, the country voted to give $350 million to the arena and $40 million for a new parking deck. Nevertheless,…
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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 wanted to put in place.…
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Minnesota United FC had grand plans outside their new stadium in 2016. Now? Not so much
Fans coming to the stadium for this year's Minnesota United FC home opener found “very little changed” from past years. Additionally, the stadium was still surrounded by a “barren landscape of surface parking lots”. This is likely why fans continue coming to games and complaining about the “lack of activities around the stadium for before and after games”.
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