Things I learned this week: Dogs don’t have eyebrows, but they did evolve special facial muscles so they could look cuter to humans. Synanthropic evolution is weird, and that’s even before getting into how rats in Central Park evolved the ability to metabolize rancid peanuts.
And with that palate cleanser out of the way, on to the stadium and arena news:
- The Buffalo city council held some public hearings on the possibly–$1.4 billion–or-more Bills stadium proposal this week, and most of those testifying said they would rather it be built in Buffalo than in suburban Orchard Park, though some in the Old First Ward neighborhood where it might be built said they don’t want a stadium on their doorstep. From what I can tell, nothing was actually discussed about who would pay how much to build the thing, or about whether a new stadium is even needed in the first place, or at least if it was none of the local news outlets reported on it, despite this being what WGRZ-TV called “a fact-gathering session to help the community better understand what the idea would entail, cost, and how challenges, including displacement, would be dealt with.” Mission not accomplished!
- Meanwhile, the Buffalo News ran an article outright declaring that “the prospects of renovating Highmark Stadium … have been effectively put to rest by a state study that recommended against it.” Buffalo really needs some better journalism outlets, stat.
- The city of Knoxville and Knox County are set to vote on issuing $65 million in bonds for a new Tennessee Smokies stadium next week, something that would cost the city and county about $42 million to pay off after all the moving parts stop moving. Some labor groups are calling for the votes to be delayed while they hash out a community benefits agreement with developer Randy Boyd, who insists he doesn’t need to put anything in writing about paying stadium workers a living wage because he’s a local guy. If the bonds are approved, according to WATE-TV, “city and county leaders would still have to approve certain incentives to ensure the private development surrounding the stadium,” no more details on what that would cost, what do you expect of us, people, we have a TV station to run here.
- Tired of stories about sports team owners who threaten to move out of town without subsidies, then admit they weren’t going anywhere regardless, but thanks anyway for the subsidies, suckers? Then perhaps you will enjoy this story from Pat Garafolo’s Boondoggle newsletter about how a tech CEO got $23 million in subsidies from Utah by threatening to take his company elsewhere, then admitted that he wasn’t going anywhere regardless, setting off a state investigation of whether he had scammed taxpayers. As Pat notes, this isn’t uncommon — Toyota once got $40 million in “incentives” to keep jobs in Texas, then admitted that they would have done so anyway, then got to keep the money regardless — so the real news will be if Utah actually tries to get its money back.
- The owner of the Wilmington Blue Rocks says his team was almost eliminated in the minor-league baseball contraction, and still could be if he doesn’t get a Ferris wheel like the Quad City River Bandits have. “To be up on a Ferris wheel, or to be up on those Yo-Yos, and to be overtop of 95 looking down on the cars … how cool for our kids,” said Blue Rocks owner Dave Heller. I can hear the screams of the children already!
- Wondering if anything’s been resolved over whether the cut-rate sale of stadium land to Los Angeles Angels owner Arte Moreno was illegal and could need to be overturned? Answer: Nope. “Conversations continue,” said Anaheim spokesperson Mike Lyster, and a state spokesperson said an investigation is still ongoing.
- Wondering if the Arizona Coyotes and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport are still fighting over whether the Coyotes’ wished-for Tempe arena would be too tall and get in the way of arriving planes? Answer: Yep.
- A guy in Georgia has responded to the Toronto Blue Jays‘ alleged desire to tear down and replace the Rogers Centre — you will perhaps remember that rumor from last year, when it was called “a trial balloon wrapped in a beta test” — by designing one himself and building it out of cardboard. That will certainly keep costs down, but the Jays may have to spend extra to find free agent signings who can help their club despite being only half an inch tall.
I do not condone sports (or other business) owners bluffing municipal governments (or their designates) out of subsidy cash.
However, if we are to believe that the officials who were too stupid to call that bluff in the first place have some sort of recourse under law, then wouldn’t I also have recourse under law for all the money I’ve lost in friendly poker games in which my friends raised me when they had a crap hand?
As much as I despise billionaires who seek welfare, the real problem isn’t that these blood suckers ask – it’s that the people who are charged with saying no to bad deals seem rarely to do so.
“That contract has certain representations and warranties. Among which is you are looking at other states, etc., etc., and if those representations and warranties turn out to be false then it’s a breach of contract and that contract can be canceled and the incentive goes away,” [Utah economic development office guy] said.
This seems like a dodgy way to write a contract — “no pretending you were going to move unless you were *really* thinking about it, IN YOUR BRAIN SPACE” — but if it’s enforceable, more power to ’em.
It is an extremely dodgy way to phrase a contractual clause.
Speaking of Glendale… one of the reasons the council of the day voted to approve the Westgate arena funding was that one of their functionaries told them that the team had agreed a $700m leasebreak fee, meaning the city would be made far more than whole should the team leave.
That clause – which the team gleefully signed – turned out to be the definition of unenforceable. In fact, IIRC, it was one of the very first obligations that Judge Baum quashed during the bankruptcy hearings.
The teams hire high end lawyers to negotiate. The municipalities and states almost never do. Still, that doesn’t absolve them of responsibility.
If I go to buy a new midsized car and the dealer tells me it will get 82mpg… is taking that as reasonable and at face value sufficient due diligence as a customer?
I don’t think a court would side with me unless I could provide a written guarantee from the salesman and the manufacturer that the car will do just that. An equivalent verbal promise “Oh, it gets great gas mileage. best in class” is not going to stand up.
It seems to me that is what the EDO is proposing here: “We are going to word this so that the taxpayer side thinks they are covered, but also so that the team side knows that they are not obligated to cover”.
‘Getting to yes’ sometimes is the same as outright lying.
There’s a fine line between marketing and fraud.
Regarding the Sky Harbor/Coyotes feud, reading the original letter from Attorney Wood and the Sky Harbor rebuttal letter, begs the bigger question – how much information are the Coyotes hiding?
I would say, the Coyotes are hiding quite a bit.
Wood letter:
https://www.skyharbor.com/docs/default-source/pdfs/rio-salado-project/letter-wood-to-holm-10-25-2021.pdf
Sky Harbor rebuttal:
https://www.skyharbor.com/docs/default-source/pdfs/rio-salado-project/2021-11-01-holm-to-wood-letter-re-ted-(final).pdf
Ouch.
Sadly for the airport and city, this is standard developer conduct. Stall, provide no information, then as deadlines approach complain that you are the one waiting for approval and that failure to approve the application “as is” could result in the loss of the project/jobs/opportunity/team/hope/future.
When this all falls apart for Mr Meruelo and company, they will have lots of people to blame, except themselves.
This team has operated as a mid-level Amateur Hour act since its arrival in Arizona. Everything in this current saga indicates a continuing effort to maintain that reputation.
I’m surprised that Utah tech guy was stupid enough to admit his lie in the first place…..
Mark Cuban is making noises about leaving a perfectly fine arena. He believes “it’s time” to leave despite saying the arena “is beautiful and it’ll last forever.” Of course , the article makes no reference to how a hypothetical arena would be funded.
https://cc.bingj.com/cache.aspx?q=mavericks+arena+future+question&d=4984846687146645&mkt=en-US&setlang=en-US&w=tqtJ7Rht6B3a2PRug1xX7QI6EjykhPEF
Can’t Cuban just pay for it by
continuing his cryptocurrency “pump and dump” scheme before it gets regulated? That’s how all the high tech bros are doing it these days. #Dogecoin
It worked with Broadcomm too…. why say ‘whoa’ in the middle of a horserace….
I’m sure any minute now all the people so concerned about election integrity since 2020 will express their outrage against what happened to India Walton…any minute now…any minute now…