Friday roundup: Grading Mariners subsidies on a curve, Cobb County could close parks to pay off Braves debt, Beckham punts on another stadium deadline

Congratulations to the team that had never won the hockey thing winning it over the other team that had never won the hockey thing because it was a new team! And meanwhile:

• Today was going to be the last day for David Beckham’s Miami MLS ownership group to make a $901,500 down payment to the county for three acres of land that would be needed to build a new stadium in Overtown, which the owners say they don’t want to do anymore, maybe, but really who knows? But anyway, now it’s not the last day because Mayor Carlos Gimenez agreed to waive the deadline because of the ongoing lawsuit over the county’s no-bid sale of the land, and you’re already losing interest, aren’t you? All you want to know is where is this team going to play already, and who will pay for it how and when will it happen? and the answer to all of that remains ¯_(ツ)_/¯.
• Here’s an editorial from the Seattle Times saying that spending $177 million in public money on upgrades to the Mariners‘ stadium would be a good deal because it “supports smart investments in a beloved regional asset that will need more than basic maintenance as it ages beyond its teen years,” which doesn’t actually explain what “smart” or “need” mean or why the public should be responsible for any of this. But also, the stadium is projected to “generate $3.1 billion in economic output” over the next 20 years, which doesn’t explain what “economic output” means or how this was calculated and then it acknowledges that “those numbers are high” but c’mon, just give the Mariners the money anyway, they have a difficult teenager to deal with, don’t they deserve some help? There’s a helpful list of editorial board members at the end, in case you want to drive around Seattle and point and laugh at them.
• And speaking of the Mariners, here’s a long article in FanGraphs lauding them for “essentially guaranteeing that taxpayers will realize at least some profit from the initial stadium construction investment,” which is even too rose-colored for the Seattle Times editorial board. Seriously, if we’re going to be showering sports team owners for only asking for $177 million to upgrade their buildings that they got the public to pay more than $400 million for in the first place, I think maybe it’s time to give up on moral relativism altogether.
• The Oakland A’s may be getting one of those “get out of full environmental review free” cards that are all the rage in California, which is potentially problematic, but probably not as problematic as having no idea where a stadium will go or how much the A’s owners will pay for the land, so let’s cross one bridge at a time.
• Akron is demolishing part of the Rubber Bowl because it’s falling down and has been condemned, which is understandable, but it’s still worth taking a moment to remember that our nation once had sports venues called things like the Rubber Bowl.
• Now that the New York Islanders want to build a new arena next to Belmont Park, the New York Racing Association is proposing a renovating of the racetrack as well, on the apparent theory that hockey fans will wander over to watch horse racing, but only if the facility isn’t shabby compared to a shiny new arena. No indication yet how much the NYRA will be looking to spend or if any of it will be public money, but I’m sure that award-winning Newsday reporter Jim Baumbach will be on top of this soon. (That’s not sarcasm! For once.)
• Cobb County is looking at closing parks if it can’t close its budget deficit, which would be a lot smaller if not for all the tax money that’s going to pay for the new Atlanta Braves stadium.
• St. Petersburg has hired architects to figure out what to do with the Tropicana Field site if the Tampa Bay Rays move out, which is good due diligence but doesn’t actually mean the Rays are any closer to moving out.
• Rapid City, South Dakota residents voted overwhelmingly to spend $130 million on a new arena, three years after voting overwhelmingly not to spend $180 million on a new arena. I bet FanGraphs will think this is a sign of tremendous progress.
• And finally, enjoy this article about a Philadelphia Flyers executive who recalls being at his then 18-year-old arena and thinking, “I was kind of out, walking around the arena, and it just sort of started to feel tired.” Arenas got mid-life crises!