January 18, 2008
Seattle gets another stadium demand
I don't usually cover college sports stadiums, in part because there's only so much time in the day, but this one seems worthy of note if only for the piling-on factor: The University of Washington is planning a $300 million renovation of Husky Stadium, and wants state taxpayers to pay for half of it. Ways in which this is unlike the Mariners, Seahawks, and proposed Sonics deals that went before it: UW is a public institution, so the subsidies wouldn't be going to a private for-profit enterprise. Ways in which it's very much like it:
UW lobbying efforts in Olympia are emphasizing that Husky sports bring in about $211 million in sales for state businesses, $83 million in labor income and almost $13 million in tax revenue every year.
Even if you buy these numbers (and they seem inflated, given that it's likely the vast majority of football-goers come from within the state and just divert spending from elsewhere), they don't say anything about whether Husky fans would generate any more economic activity if they were sitting in a state-renovated stadium. What, is UW implying it'll move to Oklahoma City if it doesn't get its way?
"The biggest challenge we face, of course, is that we can't threaten to move to Oklahoma City," UW President Mark Emmert said Thursday.
I can't stand it...
