And in other news:
- Washington’s football team is now officially called the Commanders after the club staged a photo op of a wall on Wednesday, though some people are already suggesting a shortened nickname. Next up for Commanders owner Daniel Snyder: Figure out how to get a massive pile of tax kickbacks from the state of Virginia for a new stadium while several former team employees accuse him of running a workplace rife with sexual harassment, including editing together “a soft-porn video” of the team’s cheerleaders at Snyder’s request, and Snyder groping another team employee and trying to force her into his limo. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has called this an example of “winning the competition for jobs” — the football stadium, that is, not the sexual harassment, though to be fair he didn’t say what kind of jobs.
- The owners of the Milwaukee Brewers have commissioned a study of their stadium “needs” through 2040, even though their lease only runs through 2030. Milwaukee’s stadium district has an $87 million reserve fund set aside for renovations — on top of the $290 million it spent to build the venue in the first place way back in 2001 plus tens of millions in additional upgrades in the years since — but if that runs short of what team execs want, a team spokesperson said they don’t want the five-county sales tax that paid for the first round of funding to be reestablished, but rather for “new and creative solutions” to “address the needs of the ballpark within the terms of the current lease.” Nobody seems to be suggesting that the public stadium district just inform the Brewers that if they want a new lease after 2030, they’ll have to pay for their own damn stadium upgrades, whoops, looks like I just did!
- A group called Central Arizonans for a Sustainable Economy, which advocates on behalf of low-income workers and immigrants, has launched a campaign to oppose the $200 million and up in public subsidies being proposed for a Tempe arena for the Arizona Coyotes. The campaign site for now includes just a sample letter to the Tempe council, which is already reportedly leaning against voting for the plan; a vote could come this month, or be put off until after this spring’s council elections, which Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo would no doubt like in hopes that it will shift the balance of power on the council.
- The anti-criminal-justice-abuse group Voice Buffalo and the umbrella nonprofit Partnership for the Public Good have launched their own campaign around the Buffalo Bills owners’ request for a billion-dollar-plus new stadium, but theirs is just seeking a community benefits agreement to throw some money at improved transit and job training as part of the deal. As a reminder, this sort of thing has not always worked out well.
- We wanted to understand football stadium economics. So we asked a cookie baker in suburban Cincinnati.
Bengals article courtesy of Les Nessman, 5 time winner of the coveted “Buckeye News Hawk Award”
WKRP in Cincinnati!
Commanders? No, they are the Demanders. Dee-mand, dee-mand, dee-mand (a new stadium)
And you all laughed when I suggested they should be called the Communists…. clearly somebody was more on the ball than I was with the tee shirts…
Who’s laughing now? (ok, not me, obviously, but somebody is…)
As for the Bengals, do we need any more proof that sports subsidies work?
Over a billion spent (including lost public revenue) and already (twice in 34 years) some guy has made an extra $40k and a lady can’t keep Bengals themed cookies on the shelf!
And all this when the team doesn’t even have it’s holographic displays yet!!!
Of course, now that the NFL knows that Bengals themed cookies are being sold outside the stadium, um, well, let’s just hope the cookie lady has a really good lawyer on retainer.
“…they don’t want the five-county sales tax that paid for the first round of funding to be reestablished, but rather for “new and creative solutions” to “address the needs of the ballpark within the terms of the current lease.”
My HERO will be the government employee(s) who respond with something along the lines of “You are a BILLION, that’s billion with a ‘B,’ sports team that sure, you provide ‘jobs,’ albeit jobs that are mostly seasonal and at salaries at or near minimum wage, you provide NO great service to the people of this town, barely half of whom even support or follow your sport…You can have the government’s answer now, if you like. Our final offer is this: nothing. Not a handout and not even a tax break. In fact, we would appreciate if you would be a true ‘corporate citizen’ as you purport to be, and pay your taxes to the city and state, and do so happily.”
Sadly, in an alternate universe Chicago Dan…..
Well the Insomnia Cookies two blocks from The Dome in St. Louis is still open, despite the Rams moving. So, unless we see a mass of cookie shops moving from Oakland to Las Vegas, this theory is shot.
Neil,
Am I imagining things or can I say that I see what you did there?
Or is there no there there with the link to the Cincy article?
It was a reference to this, but I sadly couldn’t link the same text to two places at once:
https://www.fieldofschemes.com/2022/01/24/18423/we-wanted-to-understand-baseball-stadium-economics-so-we-asked-the-manager-of-a-taco-truck-in-tampa/
Gotcha. I actually thought it was a side eye to the longest url that I have ever seen. And I don’t think that I’ve seen one of your bullet points that was completely highlighted.
So no there there. Just me thinking this link is ridiculous…
https://local12.com/news/local/bengals-boosting-business-for-suburban-shops-cincinnati-anderson-township-inspiring-kind-bakery-the-lounge-kuhls-hotsports-spot-ohio-kentucky-indiana-local-12-tristate-economy-nfl-playoffs-afc-championship-kansas-city-chiefs-arrowhead-stadium
Way off topic but that url is bigger than the headline and almost as long as the article.
Is SEO that powerful?
Ha! I hadn’t even noticed that, but you’re right, somebody clearly thinks that the key to traffic is to put in ALL the keywords…
Here’s NHL commissioner Gary Bettman on the Coyotes pursuit of an arena in Tempe and the league’s stance on playing at 5K seat ASU in the interim
https://twitter.com/CollinHarmonTV/status/1489739829680082944
Bettman: “I LOVE IT! IT’S THE BEST IDEA I HAVE EVER HEARD, AND I WILL SUPPORT EVERY IDEA POSSIBLE TO KEEP THE COYOTES IN ARIZONA AT ALL COSTS! Even if they have to play in an outdoor parking lot, I will support it!”
It was interesting (but not surprising) to hear Bettman praise the current owner for his tremendous efforts to keep the team in Glendale… which obviously included not bothering to pay rent, suppliers or subcontractors etc.
Yeah, Gary, that’s some tremendous commitment right there… maybe the league should create some sort of public service award for owners who demonstrate this level of commitment to fleecing their partners and reneging on contractual agreements… whom would it be named after, I wonder?
The community benefits agreement is the dumbest thing ever.
If the group wants $100 million in subsidies, it makes more sense to ask for that instead of making it part of a billion dollar subsidy for something else.
The taxpayer is still get fleeced. Paying $1 billion and getting a small rebate does not make it a better deal. Especially when it will lead to concessions elsewhere.
Bettman bitched about Glendale tonight in the ASG press, even though Glendale practically gave the Coyotes every break imaginable until it was realized the Coyotes were not a sound investment, then bitched about Calgary not building a new arena for the Flames.
To him (and, well, practically any sports league operator), if you’re not bending over backwards and making the owners happy, there is something wrong with your city government.
It would be interesting (but sadly there is no legal basis for) to see Glendale file a civil claim against the NHL for all the losses they have suffered as a result of agreeing to host they Coyotes.
At least then we’d have a legitimate number representing the cost to the city of this dimwitted attempt to become a professional sports mecca. Arguably the football stadium has worked (at least as intended, though I’m sure they are still badly underwater on it).
I would put the net cost to the city of hosting the Coyotes north of $500m to date. Elaine Scruggs where are you? Not in jail? That’s a shame…
So the Commies are leveraging Virginia against Maryland.
Go Commies!
Read your article on the CBA’s Neil.
Sad when a people’s own politicians sell them out. How does someone like Carrion sleep at night?
Very well, apparently…..
ARIZONA BOARD OF REGENTS agenda posted.
1:50 p.m. ADMINISTRATIVE BUSINESS
Capital Development Plan and License Agreement Approval, (ASU)Arizona State University (ASU) asks the board to approve (1) its $134.7 million Capital Development Plan (CDP), which includes one resubmitted project, and (2) license agreements for use of the Multipurpose Arena in excess of three years.
https://public.azregents.edu/Board/Amended-Agenda.pdf
Curious that the actual detailed plans have not been released.
Capital Development Plan and License Agreement Approval
https://public.azregents.edu/Board/Item%203__ASU%20Capital%20Development%20Plan.pdf
I bet players will be over the moon over having to walk outside in full gear to head to the arena.
I bet they’ll build some sort of moving floor walkway… or maybe a Red Bull Crashed Ice style frozen ramp…
“…. the tenants will be carried in extreme comfort past murals depicting mediterranean scenes towards the rotating knives…”
“winning the competition for jobs” sounds so much nicer than “losing the war among the states”
Surely now that Snyder has adopted a militaristic name the stadium should be funded out of the Pentagon? (probably the dark projects budget… given the owner acts like the Dark Lord….)
Web cam of ASU/Coyotes Temporary Arena construction
https://app.oxblue.com/open/mortenson/asuarena