Bread and Circuses – The Shady, Slimy and Corrupt World of Taxpayer Funded Sports Stadiums

Ilya Shapiro asks, “If luxury stadiums were hugely profitable, why would the savvy businessmen who own the teams let the politicians in on the windfall?”

[link to www.outsidethebeltway.com]

How the NFL Fleeces Taxpayers

Taxpayers fund the stadiums, antitrust law doesn't apply to broadcast deals, the league enjoys nonprofit status, and Commissioner Roger Goodell makes $30 million a year. It's time to stop the public giveaways to America's richest sports league—and to the feudal lords who own its teams.

[link to www.theatlantic.com]

That is nothing compared to trying to host the Olympics...those tax payer funded facilities typically sit to rot as soon as the games are over.

[link to www.economist.com]

Here's how it will work: the Braves will buy 60 acres of land, and give 15 of them to the Cobb County stadium authority. Those 15 acres, on which the stadium and 2,000 parking spaces will be built, will be exempt from property taxes. The Braves will develop the rest into a "mixed-use, 365-day destination", on which they will pay tax and from which, of course, they will keep the revenue.

Very true, I visited the Olympic stadium in Seoul, I think the 1988 Olympics. It just sits there and looks pretty. Maybe they use occasionally I don't really know.

[link to www.psmag.com]

If it were its own country, Chester, Pennsylvania’s per capita income would rank between Turkey and Dominica. On average, its residents are poorer than those of Uruguay, Lebanon, and Antigua and Barbuda. The city has been part of a program for economically distressed communities since 1995. And in 2010, PPL Park, a $117 million soccer stadium, was opened in Chester’s southwest corner, overlooking the Delaware River. With 97 percent of funding coming from the public, that’s $3,334.90 for every man, woman, and child in Chester.

Let the owners pay for this stuff, or sell bonds to willing fans.

Last Edited by puredreaming on 09/03/2015 08:26 PM

“Last Week Tonight” host John Oliver is advocating that sports teams stop using public funding to build extravagant stadiums.

Oliver cited the Miami Marlins, whose publicly-financed stadium includes an aquarium behind home plate.

Detroit spent $444 million to construct a new hockey arena in 2013—two-thirds of which was funded by taxpayers. Oliver noted that six days prior to the arena’s approval, the city of Detroit filed for bankruptcy.

Gov. Scott Walker, R-Wis., has supported a deal concerning building a $500 million arena for the Milwaukee Bucks. Implications of the deal include raising taxes on hotel rooms in Milwaukee and rental cars. Walker said this deal is necessary by 2017, since the Milwaukee Bucks will be forced to relocate if a new stadium is not built.

[link to dailysignal.com]

LOL look at FIFA.

Its all corruption.