The use of multiplier effects of estimated revenue assume that:

1. All monies spent are new and not a mere reshuffling of existing local spending
2. The funds stay in the community and are respent.

Most consultants hired (by teams and the government) paint a rosy picture of the economic effects and ignore the fact that very little new funds are spent and the funds that are spent leak out into the economy beyond the local community and are not recycled ad infinitum.

At the national level, it ends up resembling nuclear arms and nutually assured destruction. If one team gets a new park, everyone lese needs it to supposedly keep up. Once they all have a new park, we are back where we started.

There’s no connection between anything you mentioned other than money is involved.

I blame George W. Bush for A LOT of things (the war in Iraq, an unaffordable tax cut, an unfunded Medicare expansion), but the idea that he’s to blame/credit for Mayor Anthony Williams of DC building a new stadium for the Nationals is the stupidest thing I’ll read all day. And, yes, I assume Bozos4All will be posting something soon.

I could have posted the same comment under the jerk who referred to the President as “Obummer.” There has not been a federal government takeover of local land use laws nor municipal bonds, you idiot.

EVEN ON A SPORT BOARD people don’t want to spend money on a new sports stadium. It’s amazing these things keep getting built anyway. It’s amazing how the politicians (of both parties) always seem to find the money to make these things happen, despite the fact that voters don’t want them. It never fails to amaze me.

It’s a park. Parks cost money. Sometimes it works out so city janitors get paid 80k
for picking up trash and the higher ups from the city admin offices earn multi million $ pensions for showing up until they’re 55. Sometimes rich people make money. Developers who bribed the city council. MLB
Owners. The list is endless when it comes to who profits off your tax deductions.

And be sure that if any publicly financed city park provides a lick of attraction, the city is going to charge you $15-20 to get in.

So the fact that Craig would bemoan this travesty over all other ass poundings tax and fee payers are
subjected to at the hand of Johnny Gov reveals the concept I iterated in the second sentence to this comment is as true as when you first read it.

Still, I propose that if taxpayers are footing more than 50% of the bill,
Tv broadcasts should be free to local residents for the life of the stadium. If this means $16 beers and guys like Zito, Werth and Adrian Gonzalez(LOL) at $6 M/yr the so be it.

And how many were done during Junior’s? And Clinton’s? And Senior’s? And Reagan’s.

I mean…come on now. Let’s break it down if we’re going to call out any particular government official. Sheesh.

As a baseball fan and a politically active person, I would like to see the discussion shift from “Publicly funded sports ballparks are good because they make money for the community,” (a demonstrably false position that becomes harder to justify with every new facility) to “How much is our community willing to pay for professional baseball (or football…or basketball)?” Even though these businesses don’t deliver the kind of benefits they promise when it’s time to vote for a new bond issue or property tax waiver, they do bring some good things (like…you know…baseball) to their community. And it would be refreshing to see people discuss the real costs and benefits rather than a self-serving fairy tale.

It’s simple, like chc4. And the best part is that you can then assume a tone of indignation that anyone would do what actually wasn’t done.

At this point, it doesn’t really matter who is in power, or what promises they make, the government doesn’t take in enough money (or spend it wisely enough) to pay down the debt or to even control it.

I live in Atlanta and our esteemed mayor (Kasim Reed) has come out and said taxpayers will pay in large part for the Falcons new stadium. It blows my mind. 70% of ATL residents are against any sort of public funding yet it’s going to happen.