I’ve been busy this morning working on further research into Jeffrey Loria’s Miami Marlins windfall for an article set to run at Vice Sports on Monday, so rather than let the day slip away entirely, let’s do another round of news briefs:
- The Las Vegas Raiders plan to have most of their fans park three miles away from their new stadium on the UNLV campus, and then take shuttle buses to the game, I guess? I am getting more and more concerned about how much those as-yet-unknown highway infrastructure costs are going to come to.
- St. Paul wasn’t able to get hold of $1.5 million in state grant money to prep the site of its new Minnesota United stadium. so instead it’s going to use incremental tax revenue generated by two other development projects in the city. Which are nowhere near the stadium site, and so won’t actually receive any new incremental revenue as a result of the stadium being built. Uh, guys, I think we are straining the definition of the word “incremental” here.
- “Three years after Charlotte City Council agreed to spend nearly $28 million on improvements to the Spectrum Center, the Charlotte Hornets and the city are scheduled to start haggling in 2019 over a second round of renovations, which would like cost many more millions.” This thanks to a state-of-the-art clause in the Hornets’ lease that says the city has to provide any amenities that at least 50% of other NBA teams have.
- And speaking of state-of-the-art clauses, a reader writes, “Does the Cincinnati Bengals upgrade clause include this?” And that’s all for today, have a great weekend!
The Vegas parking thing is a total joke. Boggles the mind that anybody would seriously believe that would be a workable solution.
The Raiders lack of a parking plan only makes sense if one thinks the main goal is to fill the stadium with tourists and not local fans, but if that is the case they might want to sit in on some Italian “anti-mafia commission” hearings to come up with some real innovative ideas to lure tourists to the stadium.
I’m not sure I accept the premise that the Raiders will need lots of parking for their fans.
First of all, we don’t know if a large number of people will show up at all. I still have concerns that the average Vegas resident can afford professional sports, even 8/10 times a year.
Secondly, we can’t be sure how many will be locals who wish to drive to the game, or how many will be tourists already in town and staying “just up the street”.
Finally, the Raiders and more broadly the NFL have been abusing their fans for years. Why would we expect them to provide free shuttle buses when you can just let the fans walk three miles in that lovely September heat? Lots of (pooled revenue exempt) money to be made selling $4 water at quick kiosks along the way…
Is there any reason Davis can’t sell a personal bottle license so that fans have to pay an upfront fee just for the right to pay for water later when they are thirsty?
Don’t give him ideas!
So UNLV’s Sam Boyd Silver Bowl isn’t good enough for the NFL but the school’s parking spots are?
The Raiders parking scenario should surprise nobody who knows the control the taxi lobby has in Las Vegas.
It will definitely be the NFL stadium with the highest taxi and Uber usage. Good luck after the game!
This is the same city/county that wouldn’t allow it’s barely used monorail to go to the airport (which would significantly increase ridership and reduce taxi trips).
Lesson learned. Require at least two consecutive seasons with a win-loss above 0.500 before a state of the art clause can be invoked. Fair product for fair investment.
Steph Curry just signed a five-year, $201 million supermax deal that makes him the highest annually compensated athlete in the world.
James Harden just signed a 4-year extension, the team supermaximum extension that will guarantee him $228 million through the 2022-23 season.
So it makes perfect sense that NBA arenas continue to be subsidized by the taxpayers.