January 31, 2004
Super Bowling for dollars
On the eve of Super Bowl Sunday, NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue has been busily trying to leverage the promise of future Super Bowls to shake loose stadium subsidies for his teams. Yesterday Tagliabue called the San Diego Chargers' desire for a new stadium "an urgent situation," following that up by declaring that "the Vikings clearly have a need for a new stadium." The commissioner promised that cities with new facilities will get preference in being host to future Super Bowls, which he claimed can bring as much as $300 million in economic activity to an area (a figure called into doubt by the research of economist Philip Porter). Added Vikings owner Red McCombs: "It's a great opportunity for the people of Minnesota." Well, one person, anyway.
January 30, 2004
Arena of the living dead
In her "State of the Downtown" speech yesterday, Sacramento Mayor Heather Fargo declared: "I don't consider the [proposed Kings] arena to be dead. It's on the back burner; it's simmering." Sports subsidy issues aside, we can't be the only ones who find this a really disturbing image.
Mary not o-Kay with Cowboys tax
Cosmetics giant Mary Kay has notified the city of Dallas that if it goes ahead with plans to fund a new Cowboys stadium with a 3% hike in hotel taxes, the company would yank its five annual conferences from the Dallas area. Dallas County Judge Margaret Keliher replied that county commissioners would certainly take the threat into account as they mull the stadium project, saying "if Mary Kay pulled out of Dallas, that would certainly affect the economics." Added Mayor Laura Miller, a stadium opponent with a pithier way with words: "We want to keep those pink ladies happy."
MN committee: No gambling, no public vote, no state money
The results of the Minnesota Stadium Screening Committee's deliberations are in, and they include: a rejection of gambling casinos as a funding source; a recommendation not to hold public referendums on Twins and Vikings stadium proposals, as these might make the teams' task "more difficult than it already is" (in other words, they might lose); and a recommendation not to spend state money on any new stadiums. The committee did recommend building a Twins stadium in either Minnesota or St. Paul, and a Vikings stadium in suburban Anoka County or Eden Prairie, but given that all funding schemes proposed so far would involve state money - and casinos are the only public financing scheme with any public support - the report still leaves a stadium finance gap of several hundred million dollars. It should be interesting to see what if anything Gov. Tim Pawlenty submits to the state legislature next week.
Dodger Stadium safe (for now)
Asked about his plans for the Los Angeles Dodgers, new owner Frank McCourt replied: "We have no plans to do anything but play baseball in Dodger Stadium." Asked if that was meant to dispel rumors that the real estate developer had plans to knock down the historic ballpark, McCourt replied: "Yes, it is." Asked if he could see the Dodgers still playing there in 25 years, McCourt replied: "How do I know what's going to happen in 25 years?" Well, it's progress.
Land cost to land on Ratner?
Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman Peter Kalikow may have thrown a monkey wrench into Bruce Ratner's Nets arena plans, declaring that the cash-strapped MTA will not transfer development rights to 10 acres of rail yards for free, as had been widely expected. "Any property that is transferred will have to be transferred at fair market value," said Kalikow, leading a Ratner aide to reply that "it's always been understood that it will be fair market value." (Actually, Ratner said in December that "whatever land we buy for housing, office, we'll pay the fair-market value as determined by appraisal" - implying that the several acres of land under the arena would be provided for free.)
The value of the MTA land is still unclear - one city appraiser told the Daily News his "guesstimate" was $50-75 million, while other real estate experts have estimated a price as high as $500 million. Whatever the price tag, if Ratner does agree to pay it, that would reduce his requested public subsidy to a mere $585 million, which would still be the largest taxpayer expense on a basketball arena in history.
January 29, 2004
Katie, bar the door
With the Nets already demanding $1 billion in public subsidies for their planned Brooklyn arena, now comes word that the Knicks and Rangers may be next in line. Charles Gargano, head of New York's quasi-public Empire State Development Corporation, told the New York Sun: "We have heard that they are looking [for help with a new arena], and we're in the business of helping move megaprojects along." Gosh, we sure didn't see that one coming.
January 28, 2004
Marlins insist on flipping lid
Say this much for the Florida Marlins, they haven't let their dwindling stadium options stop them from leveling new demands. "We're not considering a facility without a roof,'' team president David Samson told the Miami Herald. ''It should come as no surprise to anyone we've ever met with. For the Marlins to stay in South Florida, they need to play in a roofed facility.'' Samson continues to maintain that the team can build a retractable-roofed facility for $325 million, which is pretty friggin' unlikely.
Wrigley landmarked
The endless bickering over the landmarking of Wrigley Field ended quietly yesterday, as the Chicago City Council's landmarks committee voted unanimously to landmark elements of the home of the Chicago Cubs, while allowing for minor expansions of the 90-year-old structure. While the landmarks designation would allow for expansion of Wrigley's bleachers, that seems less likely now that the Cubs agreed to take a share of profits from rooftop seat owners in exchange for not building a view-blocking bleacher addition.
Times, MSG slag Manhattan stadium
It's been a bad couple of days for the proposed New York Jets stadium on Manhattan's West Side, which has come under attack not just from local community activists and New Yorkers upset at the $4 billion pricetag, but from two more powerful local interests: the New York Times, and Cablevision, owners of Madison Square Garden.
Yesterday, the Times editorialized that the stadium "is starting to look more like an expensive albatross," and suggested it be cut out of the proposed Hudson Yards project and perhaps built on cheaper land in Queens. Now comes word that to placate Cablevision, the Jets have agreed to redesign their proposed stadium to rule out its use for arena-sized events, thus avoiding any potential competition with the nearby Madison Square Garden.
As Brian Hatch notes at NewYorkGames.org: "Will the Jets still pay $800 million? Their contribution went up from around $300 million to $800 million at the same time the arena idea materialized. Without event income from the facility, they may not be able to pay as much into the plan." One also wonders what this will do to deputy mayor Dan Doctoroff's one-year-overdue financing scheme, given that the Jets had been promising an economic boost from 150 events a year to be held at the stadium-cum-arena.
January 27, 2004
Minnesota mulls referenda
With Minnesota's stadium screening committee set to issue its final report next week, a key issue is likely to be whether to allow the public to vote on any new taxes to build stadiums for the Twins and Vikings. The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports that committee chair Dan McElroy is leaning toward requiring a referendum to approve any stadium plan, but that "the Twins and Vikings don't like them because they add uncertainty to an already fragile process." (Translation: They might lose.) Other items still to be decided by the committee: Which of the four remaining plans to recommend to the governor, and whether or not to propose building a gambling casino in the Twin Cities to help fund the hundreds in millions of dollars in state costs.
Stadium-building firm advocates building stadium
The Kansas City Royals may not be demanding a new stadium at the moment, but that didn't stop groundbreaking Kansas City Star columnist Kevin Collison from asking how to go about building one - asking, in this case, Ellerbe Becket, a Kansas City-based architecture firm that specializes in building stadiums. Company spokesman Stuart Smith told Collison that building a $350 million downtown stadium (as opposed to a cheaper renovation of Kauffman Stadium) would be "a visionary thing.” It's certainly somebody's vision, anyhow.
January 25, 2004
MN poll: No stadiums, please
As Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty's stadium committee charges ahead with picking new stadium plans for the Twins and Vikings, a new poll of Minnesota residents shows that most think the entire exercise is a waste of time. According to the Star Tribune poll, Minnesotans oppose a new home for the Twins by a 52-42 percent margin, with just 36% saying they'd spend any tax money on a Twins stadium; less than a third of those polled think the Vikings should get new digs at all, let alone at taxpayer expense.
You can't put a price on $1 billion
It must be a slow news week, because suddenly everyone is doing stories on the economic impact of recently built sports facilities. Today it's the Houston Chronicle's turn, where a peek into the results of the $1 billion spent on new facilities for the Astros, Texans, and Rockets reveals that ... "Sports is one of the few things that holds a city together." "The teams lend a positive identity." "There are thousands of people who may never go to a game, but they'll argue about it. They're getting all of this enjoyment. There's no reasonable way to estimate the value of that."
Miami losing $15m/year on arenas
The Palm Beach Post reports that Miami taxpayers are losing more than $15 million a year on the three arenas built for local sports teams since 1988. Miami-Dade County is paying off $42 million in bonds for the Miami Heat's America Airlines Arena (approximately $3 million a year), while paying the team $6.4 million a year in an "operating subsidy" to play in their own arena. The Heat's old arena, meanwhile, Miami Arena, now sits idle, while taxpayers are still on the hook for $3.9 million a year in debt, an operating subsidy of $1 million, and an ''asset replacement'' subsidy of between $1 million to $5 million per year. The region's third arena, the Office Depot Center that is home to the Florida Panthers, is bringing in enough money to pay back Broward County's loans, but below-expected profits have meant the county has gotten almost none of the revenue-sharing money the team was to pay in lieu of rent.
January 24, 2004
St. Paul restaurants support, oppose stadium tax
The publisher of Midwest Wine Connection magazine has said that a soon-to-be-released survey of restaurant and bar owners in St. Paul shows "wide support" for a meal-and-drink tax surcharge to pay for a new Minnesota Twins stadium. This comes one day after city councilmember Dave Thune said his own survey shows restaurant and bar owners "substantially against" a stadium tax. Adds the St. Paul Pioneer-Press: "The general sentiment about the plan among the public - who will actually pay the tax - remains unknown." Glad we cleared all that up.
January 23, 2004
Nets sale price juiced by city subsidies
If New York goes ahead with plans to funnel over $1 billion in money to Bruce Ratner's Nets, taxpayers can rest assured that their cash is going to an important cause: enriching the team's former owners. Newsday reports today that Ratner's investment group was "willing to pay a premium because of the anticipated real estate profits if the entire project is completed in 10 years," moving forward with his final $300 million bid only once he'd received assurances that the city would pay the cost of his $435 million Brooklyn arena.
January 22, 2004
Devils owner: More boodle for us!
The ink was barely dry on the newspapers announcing that Bruce Ratner had won the bidding for the New Jersey Nets when New Jersey Devils CEO Lou Lamoriello was demanding his own piece of the action. Calling the proposed Nets move to Brooklyn "a very positive thing," Lamoriello called for the state to build his team a new arena in Newark, making deft use of the ever-popular non-threat threat to leave town: "Knowing that the Devils need a new building and knowing the Devils' lease expires in 2007, this is proactive to the Devils staying here, which is what they want to do for long-term. ... I don't speak as if there is threat. That is not the point here. The point is, we all know the new facility is needed." That sound you just heard was of the New York area's six other major-league franchises sharpening their extortion pencils.
January 21, 2004
Ratner buys Nets for $300m, asks for $1.1b in arena subsidies
According to the New York Times, developer Bruce Ratner has reached an agreement to buy the New Jersey Nets for $300 million, with the intention of moving them to Brooklyn. The Times also for the first time gives a breakdown of Ratner's subsidy demands for his planned Brooklyn arena: $28 million a year in redirected sales and income taxes (which over 30 years should be enough to pay the arena's entire $435 million construction cost); $150 million to build new roads, sewers and utilities, and relocate the existing train tracks on the arena site; and the cost (estimated at $500 million) of donating 11 acres of state-owned land at no cost to the developer. Total public subsidy: roughly $1.1 billion, for a project that Ratner had claimed would be "almost exclusively privately financed."
We'd make an Everett Dirksen joke, but we already did that yesterday.
January 20, 2004
Miller Park costs not done?
The disembodied will of Bud Selig has put the Milwaukee Brewers up for sale, but the good news for Brewers fans is, the team has a 30-year lease on Miller Park, the $400 million stadium built almost entirely with public money, with an ironclad non-relocation agreement. The not-so-good news: the Milwaukee stadium district agreed to a lease clause that requires it to keep the stadium "on a par with the replacement components and upgraded facilities in use in at least 75% of all Major League Baseball stadiums." So there's nothing to stop the team from demanding renovations well before 2030, with the threat of breaking the lease and leaving town if they don't get their way.
Double or nothing
Asked by Minneapolis Star-Tribune reporter Jay Weiner what he thought of Anoka County's offer to hand over $240 million in tax money to the team for a new stadium, Minnesota Vikings executive president Mike Kelly replied: "Two hundred and forty million in local money? If we get the state to match, then we're done." The apocryphal Everett Dirksen, phone your agent.
Signs of the Times
The New York Post's Steve Cuozzo notes that the New York Times has declared Bruce Ratner's Brooklyn Nets arena plan a "new Rockefeller Center" and written that it would "crystallize the rejuvenation of the borough and repudiate a 50-year cycle of decline" - that's the same Bruce Ratner who's building a new Manhattan headquarters for the Times, using at least $79 million in public subsidies. Given that the Paper of Record had previously pulled for the Red Sox to make the World Series, without noting it was a part-owner of the team, we probably shouldn't be surprised.
January 18, 2004
What was the question again?
Asked at a press conference yesterday how much New York's Hudson Yards project - which would include a Jets/Olympic stadium, expansion of the nearby Javits Convention Center, and a new subway line - would cost the public, deputy mayor Dan Doctoroff answered: "In terms of public, we view this as a privately financed Olympic Games. The project for the New York Sports and Convention Center, which will be the Olympic Games, is going to go forward whether or not we host the Olympic Games. And so, I don't think from that perspective that is a public contribution to the Olympic Games."
On second thought, maybe we don't mean "answered."
Expos bidding stuck in neutral
Portland, Oregon, the only city with anything like a firm financing plan for a new stadium to lure the Montreal Expos, has downgraded its projections, saying a tax on player salaries is now expected to bring in only $100 million, not $150 million as previously planned. (Someone in Portland finally noticed that the increase in baseball player salaries has slowed dramatically.) One source of revenue that apparently won't be considered: a check from the team owner. "In order for us to make a deal that makes sense for baseball," Oregon Stadium Campaign leader David Kahn told The Oregonian, "that equity share needs to be at or near zero."
Meanwhile, rumors continue to fly around where the Expos might land, with the casino company Caesars revealing it's held "very, very preliminary discussions" on bringing an MLB team to Las Vegas, while tea-leaf readers are hard at work trying to divine what Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos' appointment to baseball Executive Council will mean for bids from the D.C. area.
January 16, 2004
Mom! Minny won't share!
St. Paul Mayor Randy Kelly brought an unusual argument to the stadium table yesterday, as various cities from around Minnesota made their pitches to build new homes for the Twins and Vikings: "Minneapolis has five of the seven major cultural institutions in it; it has four of the five major sports teams in Minneapolis. And if St. Paul is expected to come to the regional table with a sense of fairness and equity, then I think the ballpark decision is one that should go to St. Paul." By that argument, shouldn't the teams move to South Dakota?
As for the stadium proposals themselves, they ranged from detailed documents submitted by Minneapolis, St. Paul, and the suburban communities of Anoka County, Burnsville, and Eden Prairie, to a proposal submitted by someone who signed themselves "A. Citizen." Many contained no financing details; of those that did:
- St. Paul proposed a $520 million Twins stadium: $220 million from the Twins in cash and rent, plus $260 million in bar, restaurant, and car rental taxes (which, notes Doug Pappas, "will encourage St. Paul residents to eat and drink in Minneapolis") and stadium parking surcharges, and $40 million in other funds.
- Minneapolis upped the Twins ante to $535 million - $308 million from a Hennepin County tax on sales, lodging, bar and restaurant sales, $100 million from the state, $120 million from the team and $7 million from the city - while proposing a renovated Metrodome for the Vikings for $260 million, though without saying where this money would come from.
- Anoka County's Vikings stadium plan would cost between $475 million and $650 million, with most of the money to come from a countywide 0.75 percent sales tax hike, 5 percent food, beverage and hotel tax, and 3.3 percent parking tax.
Other submissions included a state rep's proposal for a new casino to pay for three stadiums, a state senator's call for community ownership of the Twins, and a giant model of a stadium built into a hotel. The governor's stadium screening committee is expected to sift through all this and come up with recommendations by January 29.
January 15, 2004
MLB on Expos: Show us the money
One day after declaring that "I would rather get [the relocation of the Montreal Expos] done sooner rather than later," MLB COO Bob DuPuy clarified the league's stance: "It is an objective to have a facility committed for and understand how the facility is going to come together before a decision is made. We don't want to do something in the blind." Translation from Selig-ese: We'll move the Expos once some city coughs up dough for a new stadium, and not a moment sooner.
Baseball's relocation committee met yesterday without narrowing the list of cities bidding to be the Expos' new home - currently including Washington, D.C.; Northern Virginia; Portland, Oregon; Monterrey, Mexico; Hampton Roads, Va.; San Juan, Puerto Rico; San Antonio; Las Vegas; and Moonbase Alpha - with DuPuy somewhat defensively insisting that a move for the 2005 season "is not only viable, it is desirable." This could take even longer than we expected.
St. Paul okays stadium bid
The St. Paul city council, backing away from a proposal to cap city spending on a new stadium for the Minnesota Twins, instead unanimously approved a resolution yesterday stating it "acknowledges that the Mayor's Administration will be submitting an initial proposal," which will allow Mayor Randy Kelly to go ahead with a bid to host the Twins. The state's stadium screening committee - which, as FoS readers will recall, was packed with stadium supporters - is set to make its recommendations on Feb. 2, at which point the groundhog is likely to foresee another long, hard winter of battles over financing plans.
Ratner to net Nets?
New York papers are reporting today that Bruce Ratner, builder of the mall known locally as the Big Ugly, is on the verge of an agreement to buy the New Jersey Nets, with the intention of moving them to a new arena in Brooklyn. "The New Jersey Nets appear to be Brooklyn-bound," announced Newsday, a bit overexcitedly: as the Daily News pointed out, even if Ratner gets the Nets, the sale must still be approved by a three-quarters vote of NBA owners, and the developer needs to win city and state subsidies for his planned $435 million (land costs not included) arena.
January 14, 2004
Bouton blasts Brooklyn builder
Best-selling author and former big-league pitcher Jim Bouton visited the Brooklyn bar Freddy's this morning, to support residents threatened with eviction to make way for developer Bruce Ratner's proposed Nets arena, and help expose what he called "America's most costly hostage crisis."
Bouton's latest book, Foul Ball, is the diary of a grassroots coalition's attempts to block a city-subsidized minor-league stadium in Pittsfield, Massachusetts (successful) and gain a privately financed restoration of historic Wahconah Park for a Bouton-owned independent team (not so successful). "This is a national problem that needs to be solved by people like you who are willing to march in the streets," he told the assembled Brooklynites, noting that sports owners and their backers "do respond to embarrassment." (Bouton also repeatedly referred to Field of Schemes as "the bible" - and you know who that makes us.)
Community activist Patti Hagan of the Prospect Heights Action Coalition also announced the results of a census of the three blocks targeted for eminent domain demolition, which Ratner had previously claimed were home to "about a hundred" people. The real number, according to PHAC's door-to-door survey: 864 residents, with 243 additional jobs and 71 buildings slated for the wrecking ball. Asked by a reporter about the discrepancy, Hagan snapped: "[Ratner] never bothered to walk around this community. Obviously, he doesn't give a damn."
Minneapolis approves stadium financing plan (sorta)
Hennepin county commissioners voted 4-3 yesterday to approve a $535 million stadium plan for the Minnesota Twins, though financing details remained fuzzy. Under the county proposal, the team would pay $120 million, the state would pay $100 million, and Minneapolis would pay $7 million (a 1997 vote capped city stadium spending at $10 million), while the county would sell $308 million in bonds that would be paid off ... somehow. Possible revenue sources include a hotel/motel tax, a restaurant tax surcharge, or a sales tax surcharge, not of which are likely to be greeted enthusiastically by business owners or consumers. Commissioner Gail Dorfman, one of the three "no" votes on the resolution, told the St. Paul Pioneer Press: "I'm having trouble forgetting that 28 days ago we passed a budget with $36 million in human services cuts alone."
January 13, 2004
K.C. arena still off track
Kansas City Mayor Kay Barnes vowed to build a downtown basketball arena over a year ago, but has been tripped up by the usual problem: how to pay for it. Most recently, a plan to use tax-increment financing stalled when it turned out there won't be enough new taxes to pay for a $200 million arena. Kansas City Star columnist Kevin Collison notes that the arena project is necessary to compete for the NCAA basketball tournament and its $20.5 million in economic impact; if Collison noticed anything odd about spending $200 million to get a tenth that amount in economic activity (not new taxes) every few years, he didn't say.
Cubs accept rooftop cash
The Chicago Cubs have agreed to a settlement of their long-running lawsuit against owners of neighboring buildings who sell rooftop seats to watch Cubs games. Under the deal, building owners will give 17 percent of their gross revenue to the ballclub, while the Cubs will drop their lawsuit, and agree to compensate owners for obstructed views if they go ahead with plans to expand the Wrigley Field bleachers. "It's an amazing deal for the Cubs," one unnamed source told the Chicago Tribune. "They are just handed $2 million for doing nothing."
January 10, 2004
Marlins stadium watch
Today in Florida Marlins stadium land: Boxing promoter Don King proposes building a stadium on the site of an abandoned West Palm Beach jai alai fronton! No, that's not a joke.
St. Paul swing vote flip-flopped?
With three St. Paul city council members in favor of a capping city funding for a Minnesota Twins stadium, and three opposed, the remaining member - art gallery owner Dave Thune - is looking like the swing vote. "If it were a straight user fee and food and beverage taxes, willingly accepted by the bars and restaurants, I'd accept that," Thune said recently - which comes as a surprise to Progressive Minnesota, the coalition that helped elect Thune, which notes that when Thune was asked in a campaign questionnaire, "Are there any circumstances in which you would support a tax increase to fund a new stadium?" he gave a one-word answer: "No." (He also e-mailed a constituent shortly after winning election in November: "[Mayor] Kelly says I'm 4th vote for bar tax. Fat chance.")
Thune now says that while he's "skeptical" of a bar tax, he'd consider one if "the bars came en masse and begged to have" it instituted. It remains unclear what Thune's position is on what he'd do if money rained from the sky.
Cowboys seek TIFs
The Dallas Cowboys have told city officials that in addition to the $450 million in hotel and car-rental taxes they're seeking for a new stadium, they'd like $100 million in tax increment financing for infrastructure around the new building. Dallas Mayor Laura Miller has said she's "not in support at all" of the TIF plan.
January 08, 2004
Miami floats conjoined stadiums
Add one more idea to the mix of Florida Marlins stadium proposals floating around out there. In the latest wrinkle, the Miami City Commission voted today to explore tacking on a baseball stadium to the side of the Orange Bowl, which would get a facelift of its own for football as well. The advantage: the twinned stadiums could share such elements as locker rooms, food service and storage facilities. The downside: even without a roof on the baseball stadium, the whole shmageggy would cost something on the order of $375 million. Isn't this where we came in?
January 07, 2004
Whoops, bad example
In arguing for $400 million in public subsidies to a new Minnesota Twins stadium yesterday, team president Jerry Bell pointed one state east for an illustration of why the Twins don't want to pay for their own facility: "We don't want to end up like Milwaukee. At the end of the day, what do people want? A competitive team." Only one problem: the Brewers owe almost no debt on Miller Park, which was virtually entirely paid for with public funds; their overall debt load is about average for an MLB team; and they've turned a profit every year at the new park. (Okay, that's really three problems.) Wanna try that again, Jer?
January 06, 2004
Twins, Vikes paint pretty pictures
The Minnesota Twins and Vikings each presented their visions of new stadiums to Gov. Tim Pawlenty's stadium screening committee today, the Twins unveiling a set of sketches of a retractable-roof stadium, while the Vikings just said they'd like a new one, please. (The NFL team has previously presented plans for a stadium that could double as a Cardassian starbase.) Neither team gave details as to where these stadiums would be built, how much they would cost, or who would pay for them, which we thought was supposed to be the whole point of this screening process.
(Late note: It's now being reported that the Twins submitted "supporting materials" to the committee that estimate a cost of between $430 and $450 million, or as much as $520 million including infrastructure costs. The team further said that it expected to contribute $120 million in upfront money, though the upfront money might not all be paid upfront. The remaining $400 mil would presumably come from Minnesota taxpayers.)
St. Paul council proposes cap on stadium spending
As expected, the multi-city race to build a new home for the Minnesota Twins is slowing as it comes time to figure how to pay for it. St. Paul Mayor Randy Kelly's plan to swipe the Twins from neighboring Minneapolis hit a roadblock yesterday, as two city council members said they would introduce a resolution capping city stadium spending at $10 million, to match a similar cap put in place by Minneapolis voters in 1997. "We should not be raising taxes to pay for a stadium," said Councilmember Jay Benanav. "The city's only role should be infrastructure, like rebuilding a road." Two other members of the seven-member council expressed support for a spending cap, which could be approved as early as tomorrow.
January 05, 2004
Citizen group proposes $200m Marlins stadium
A group of Broward County residents calling themselves Friends of the Marlins held a news conference today to unveil their plans for a $200 million expansion of Fort Lauderdale Stadium for the Florida Marlins. The group says the stadium can be expanded from 8,000 to 35,000 seats with no public money, using the $137 million already pledged by the team, $15 million from seat licenses, $18 million from luxury box sales and $30 million from naming rights. Of course, all these revenue sources are what the Marlins are hoping to get ahold of to recoup that $137 million expense, not to mention boost their profits. Add in that the $200 million price tag is suspiciously low, and this isn't an idea that's likely to win many friends at Loria family gatherings.
Slot money to fund Pens arena?
With the Pittsburgh Penguins mulling an offer to move to Winnipeg - yeah, Winnipeg - Pennsylvania may reconsider legislation that would provide $150 million in state money for a new hockey arena as part of a package legalizing slot machines in the state. The legislation could come up for a vote in February.
MN gov: stadiums bad idea, let's build 'em anyway
"Even though I know it's controversial, even though I know the economics of professional sports are all goofed up," Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty said yesterday on WCCO radio, "if you want to keep the Twins and the Vikings we're going to have to solve their stadium issue in the intermediate term, not the near term, and we have to get after it. I don't like it -- I don't like professional sports' economics, but it's part of our quality of life and, as governor, I've got to help lead the solution and solve the problem. So I'm going to try to do that."
January 02, 2004
Dallas stadium vote may be put off till 2005
County officials in Dallas are considering putting off a vote on $450 million in tax subsidies for a new Cowboys stadium until next year, and theories are flying fast and furious as to why, according to the Dallas Morning News (incredibly tedious registration required). "I don't want to get the stadium issue, and the site issues of that mixed up in the partisan politics of a presidential election," declared Republican County Commissioner Jim Jackson, leading to speculation that GOP officials fear sparking voter backlash against largely Republican local officials during an election year. Meanwhile, Dave Capps of the group No Jones Tax charged that the Cowboys were behind the delay: "I think one reason he [team owner Jerry Jones] does not want to have it then is because the advertising cost will be huge. He is not a political candidate, so he has to pay full rate for television. He has everything to gain by shoving it out."
January 01, 2004
Pens levy move non-threat
Coulda seen that coming: Pittsburgh Penguins owner Mario Lemieux has threatened to sell the team to out-of-town buyers if he doesn't get public money for a new arena. Or rather, he had a newspaper columnist do it for him.
