Nobody bothered to report it until yesterday because journalism is dead, but last week the Arizona state legislature passed its bill to allow the Diamondbacks to establish a 9% ballpark tax and use it for a new or renovated stadium. And if you’re still wondering whether a tax surcharge on things sold at the stadium would represent a massive public subsidy or none at all, here’s a pretty good indicator: Even though it could raise as much as $400 million, the D-Backs president says the team may not end up using it at all.
“I’m not sure we’re going to [use the mechanism], but it’s sure nice to know we’re able to,” Derrick Hall, the club’s president said in an exclusive interview. “We were looking for possibilities of financing for renovation and development if we stayed downtown. I didn’t have too many options to stay here. We’re getting no public funding as you know…
“On one hand it’s great because the general public and general taxpayer is not funding it. But we are going to be taxing our fans and our best customers. We’re granted the ability to finance at favorable rates, and pay off the debt based on taxes we would be applying to ourselves and our fans. … Now it gives us a chance to take a good, hard look at what it would take to stay here.”
Well, then! That’s not exactly “Fire up the bulldozers”: While the D-Backs lobbied hard for the tax law, Hall made it pretty clear that it’s something the team owners more want to keep in their back pocket than the actual final word on stadium funding. And don’t sleep on all those hints about moving the team out of downtown — the only place the new law approves use of ballpark tax dollars — possibly to somewhere like Tempe or Scottsdale, which if nothing else have now seen the ante upped ever so slightly if they want to lure the team to their cities. (Wonder if the state legislators from those places thought about this before voting for the tax law?)
In the end, the ability for the D-Backs to tax fans rather than just raise ticket prices and use that money instead is mostly just a way to get a lower interest rate on the team’s bonds, and that doesn’t get any red-blooded American sports owner too excited. It looks like D-Backs owner Ken Kendrick is going to take his time plotting his next move: Hall said he’d like to have a better idea of the team’s plans “within the next year to two years” and that in the meantime he plans to keep talking to other municipalities in the Phoenix area, because of course he does. We have definitely moved into the creating-leverage phase here, so everyone please keep one hand on your wallets.
Nothing surprises me about these coiling winding snakes anymore. I’ve totally given up watching any sports at all, with a couple of clicks, if I was interested(not though), I can get roundup videos free. After the whole social justice hypocrisy by this whole messy crowd they just stink like a decomposing corpse. Not to mention Brian Tuohy’s great work about a lot of it.
A big part of future of sports profit is based off of sports betting being rapidly legalized in the USA. Recently the gov of az signed a new understanding with the native tribes to include sports betting in their wonderful casinos as well, how noble of both the gov and the tribes. It’s all just about money, no morals needed. So all this will be based on pushing another addiction that will lead to more individual and community tragedies. This whole big sports industry, including the Olympics, is just so ugly it’s a huge relief to just turn it all off for good. Local/community sports below college are really where sports are best.
I know sports betting is outside the scope of your work but I think it will become a major factor next to TV. We’ve seen it for a while now in the commentary and whole shows with it as the major topic. So the type of grotesque gambling that junkies like Barkley/Jordan/Woods/+++ will be spread far and wide, gross.
I hate to disappoint, but not even sports below the college level are immune to the money grab.
You’ve got your scummy AAU hoops system (not to mention basketball academy “schools”), competitive soccer and club volleyball programs that can’t seem to NOT have a pay-to-play tournament every weekend (and with some clubs forcing kids to choose between playing for their club and high school), and the list goes on.
The most byzatine and money grabbing organization in my experience was actually Little League baseball. Worst kids’ sports experience of my life.
I lived in Mesa ( two towns over from Phoenix). Chase Field is perfectly located: Plenty of Parking and Metro Light Rail ( which was extended out to Mesa) That said, there is not much love for the Snakes. It is Cardinals, ASU, Suns, then Diamondbacks followed by Coyotes ( in that order). If the local politicians would have said NO, the Diamondbacks would have to have caved in. Why? Where exactly would they move to? Scottsdale? Tempe? Another State? Not happening and they know it.
As with the Coyotes, relocation threats generally amount to nothing – note that they are still in their longtime home. When asked “Where ya gonna move” the teams don’t have much to say, as there is roughly zero demand for mediocre sports teams. The same would be true of the Diamondbacks if only people would learn to ignore them. I only hope Scottsdale, Tempe, Mesa, Yuma, Casa Grande etc. will be smart enough to tune out the use of their cities as bargaining chips.
Personally, I think the Las Vegas Diamondbacks would be a great idea, freeing up some valuable land in the city center of Phoenix.
“We’ll hold a volunteer drive to help you pack” would be a great response from any city when faced with a relocation threat.
Even in cities with well supported and iconic franchises (Yankees, Red Sox, Leafs etc), should the team leave another would quickly want to move in.
For smaller cities (with, generally, greater subsidy demands placed on them) there is no downside real to seeing the team go. Discretionary spending will simply move elsewhere.
You might see a small drop in revenue from “out of city” fans, however this will be offset to a significant degree by local fans no longer travelling to road games in other cities.
Entertainment can take many forms. The great lie we’ve all been subjected to is that losing “your” team has any negative impact at all.