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May 27, 2009
Portland study: Stadium would destroy jobs
Another day, another economic consulting report making glowing claims about the jobs created by new stadiums ... er, what's that you say, Portland Mercury?
Mayor [Sam] Adams' office asked consulting firm ECONorthwest on Monday, May 11, to figure out the number of jobs the Beavers stadium construction would create in Portland. The mayor gave ECONorthwest only one working day to turn around the study, but its results were not good news for the mayor's office or the stadium plan: While the ballpark construction would create 453 jobs during construction, the $49 million total investment would actually create a net loss of 182 jobs citywide.
"If those individuals who put their money into baseball via taxes are allowed to put that money into the private market, that same amount of money would actually yield more jobs," explains ECONorthwest number-cruncher Abe Farkas. The study also showed that 67 percent of the construction jobs would go to people who do not live in the City of Portland.
You will not be surprised to learn that this report never saw the light of day — the Mercury only finally obtained it from the city yesterday. For their part, Mayor Adams' office charged their consultants with making "seriously faulty underlying assumptions," including that residents would get to keep their urban-renewal tax dollars if they didn't go to the stadium. While this is a fair criticism, it's worth noting that urban renewal money would presumably be spent elsewhere if not on a stadium, an opportunity cost that the ECONorthwest study (downloadable here) doesn't attempt to quantify; and if other taxes ultimately have to be raised to support whatever other project doesn't get the stadium money, then the study's numbers pan out. (For his part, Farkas said he made reasonable assumptions, given the one-day turnaround required.)
While one city commissioner called for a new report, the mayor's office nixed that idea, saying it would take up to a month and cause them to miss Major League Soccer's deadline for a Timbers stadium, which is coming up in ... September. But still, it's got to be better to act first, and ask questions later, right?
Well, congrats MLS. You now have the one thing you were lacking previously all sports leagues must now have: a bizarre, fanatical devotion to strongarming cities and states into building new arenas the moment that the home team goes below 1000% annual profit.
Posted by Marty on May 28, 2009 12:33 AM
The fact that such an insolvent league still insists on the bullying tactics used by larger leagues with any clout whatsoever probably speaks volumes about how deeply this modus operandi has been ingrained in American sports business culture. European clubs finance stadiums comparable in size to those demanded by MLS with private money, for a fraction of the cost.
What's really sick is how so many MLS franchises have chosen to doom themselves to irrelevance for at least a generation by swindling exurban communities 50 miles out of town into building stadiums. I'll tell you something, the reason soccer has not "made it" in this country has nothing to do with cultural unease with scoreless draws, or an "oversaturated" sports market, it's that by the time America was capable of supporting a professional league, the business culture surrounding the sports industry had been made so stagnant by a century of monopoly that it was literally incapable of creating a new league structure from the ground up. Owners of NASL clubs began importing stupendously expensive foreign talent from day one, apparently under the delusion that the major leagues in other more established sports had sprung up from the ground out of nowhere, endearing themselves from instantly to millions of fans across the nation. MLS is following this exact same pattern of behavior, albeit on a lesser scale.
Posted by Tom on May 28, 2009 07:57 PM
Yeah, the MLS moguls drew the wrong lesson from the NASL. They thought it failed because all the owners, acting like sheep, thought the path to instant success was to spend millions on fancy foreign players - not realizing or caring perhaps that Warner Communications (AOL Time Warner to you all now) way overspent to the point that they couldn't make any money on their 40,000-50,000 crowds. I don't say it wasn't a factor, but the fact that these guys bought that argument at all tells you something. (channels silly pointy-haired magnate)"Oh, no, no, building a league from the ground up in a day and expecting it to be profitable wasn't the problem!"
I tend to agree on the exurban thing. True, you may be able to reach Chester, PA by bus or train unlike Frisco, TX but would it not be better if they followed the example of the Seattle Sounders and just hunkered down at an existing facility? (channels ole pointy hair again) "Oh, heavens no! I might have to actually share parking concessions or luxury box revenues!"
I guess sports potentates are like the Bourbon Kings: they learn nothing and they forget nothing.
Posted by Marty on May 29, 2009 12:33 AM
This situation is sad because Randy Leonard is trying to leave his mark on the community not caring what damage he does long term. Great thinking. They quickly failed with their first site because the Trail Blazers and other well to do people weren't going to be strong armed, so then they picked a poorer part of town where there would be much less resistance. Classy. Even more, when someone asks him a question to have him defend his position, he always says something to the effect of "You've made up your mind, and I'm not going to waste my time trying to convince you or defend myself." Hey, Commissioner Leonard, that's your job. You work FOR US. I know you just approved (and, unlike other commissioners, took) a raise for yourself, but you still work for the citizens of Portland. When we ask questions and question your actions and motives, you should answer them.
The MLS needs to realize that they're a professional soccer league. In America. You aren't the NFL or MLB, you don't need to strongarm cities and poor people like this. PGE Park is more than big enough for any MLS team, and they should just take the ego hit that it's going to be a multi-use stadium.
Turn some profits and make some money, then you can start acting like pompous asses.