John Oliver On Why Taxpayers Shouldn’t Pay For Sports Stadiums
If you missed it this Sunday, Last Week Tonight’s John Oliver did a fine job of explaining exactly why the taxpayers in cities across the country should not be subsidizing these extravagant stadiums, even though our politicians continue to cave into their threats to move their teams every time one of them wants a new stadium…
34 responses to John Oliver On Why Taxpayers Shouldn’t Pay For Sports Stadiums
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Larry Schmitt July 15th, 2015 at 10:12
Probably the biggest lie they tell is about the jobs. Even for a baseball stadium, in use for 81 days, (less than 25% of the year) most of the jobs are for vendors and similar jobs. Not full time, hourly jobs with benefits. Then during the offseason, they go away completely. So the economic impact of a new stadium is a fraction of what they claim. Most of the money goes back into the pockets of the billionaire owners of the teams. Business as usual, in other words.
Tommie July 15th, 2015 at 10:21
Exactly the problem we are facing in San Diego, the super wealthy want the people who are struggling to help pay for a stadium. Politics at it’s finest.
Larry Schmitt July 15th, 2015 at 10:28
LA has three teams’, Chargers, Raiders (again) and Rams (again) owners blackmailing their current fans, threatening to move their teams there if they don’t get new stadiums. St. Louis just got a new stadium 20 years ago, but evidently it doesn’t have enough luxury suites, so the owner can’t rake in enough millions.
Tommie July 15th, 2015 at 10:43
Ain’t that a bitch! I am a 49er fan, but i do enjoy going to games here in S.D, and if they leave it will hurt the economy. Why don’t the super rich ever think of that?
Larry Schmitt July 15th, 2015 at 10:47
And if the Chargers do leave, you will have this big concrete eyesore that can’t be used for anything, so they will sell it at a bargain price to some developer who will then turn it into more stores, or more houses, which will give people even more reason to drive on your lovely freeways. And all three teams have previous ties to LA. The Chargers started there, back in the AFL days, and the Rams and Raiders used to play there too.
Tommie July 15th, 2015 at 10:51
Correct, good post!
illinoisboy1977 July 15th, 2015 at 12:22
I don’t respond well, to blackmail or ultimatums. I think I’d have to tell them: Don’t let the door hit you, where the good Lord split you!
Larry Schmitt July 15th, 2015 at 12:32
Unfortunately local governments don’t respond like that. They are afraid to lose the “prestige” that they think comes with professional teams, and they usually cave.
illinoisboy1977 July 16th, 2015 at 14:19
Yeah. Owner’s boxes are great for photo-ops.
ThorsteinVeblen2012 July 15th, 2015 at 16:45
I grew up in San Diego and went to Charger games at Balboa Stadium in the mid 60’s.
I quit being a fan when Alex Spanos bought the team. All they have done is poor mouth and threaten to move the team to LA. Let them go.
The Spanos family are a bunch of crooks. Why anyone could support them or their sports franchise amazes me.
But they aren’t any different than the rest.
Tommie July 15th, 2015 at 22:13
Alot of people feel as you do about letting them go! The Spanos make 25 mil. a year off the Chargers, i heard that on Extra Sports 1360. I think they make more. IMO
craig7120 July 15th, 2015 at 10:23
Yep
When I’m approached by a billionaire who is asking me for money, I avoid eye contact and keep walking.
tracey marie July 15th, 2015 at 10:50
While I love the Texans and going to the games it angers me when the tax payers pay for renovations and upgrades.
Tommie July 15th, 2015 at 10:54
I think we pay enough for those small ass hotdogs and a handful of beer for 30 dollars!
tracey marie July 15th, 2015 at 10:56
True enough, we tailgate for hours before, fill our bellies with food and booze. Water, $4.50 for a bottle is all we drink inside.
Tommie July 15th, 2015 at 11:00
Smart, we do the same thing!
Larry Schmitt July 15th, 2015 at 11:03
Worst hot dog I ever had was a “Fenway Frank” at a Sox game several years ago. Mushy, nasty thing, 6 bucks I think. I didn’t even finish it. At least the Yanks won the game. Even beat Clemens.
Tommie July 15th, 2015 at 11:21
Haha!
illinoisboy1977 July 15th, 2015 at 12:20
I heard that they sell leftovers at the beginning of the game, from the last game, before cooking up fresh ones. They sit in that nasty weenie water for a few DAYS, before being reheated. No, thank you!
robert July 16th, 2015 at 00:46
The Rocky Mountain Oysters at Coors Field takes the cake when it comes
to the most disgusting stadium food concoctions. I could get into
specifics but it’s just easier to say that the dish is deep-fried bull
testicles.
Bunya July 15th, 2015 at 13:55
I don’t like any Texas teams. They all remind me of Rick Perry and Louie Gohmert.
tracey marie July 15th, 2015 at 14:41
The Texans have a team of community involved players. They donate time, money and more, I give them credit for this….plus I like going to the games.
Bunya July 15th, 2015 at 16:14
I’m still a big fan of Detroit, even though everyone hates them.
tracey marie July 15th, 2015 at 19:05
Love your team and to hell with anyone who doesn’t. When we lived in Florida and untill 2002 we had dolphins tickets for over 10 years. we tried to go to as many games as we could then just sold the dolphin tickets. The only teams I have a problem with are the saints and the raiders, their fans are horrendous in Texas.
Tommie July 15th, 2015 at 22:09
Detroit is not a bad team, they made me some money last 2yrs. Stick with them!
Roctuna July 15th, 2015 at 19:45
I have to jump in with fellow my Houstonian (I didn’t know!). Both the Texans stadium, the Rockets arena and the Astros ballpark were built with lots of public money. The Rockets arena and Astros park do anchor a revitalized end of downtown that clearly is generating tax revenue. Whether that offsets the spending is another issue. I bet the team accountants have the numbers but the public’s never seen them. The citizens seem satisfied however. But remember, Houstonians once said bye-bye to the Oilers so we’re not typical.
Larry Schmitt July 15th, 2015 at 14:08
The one problem I have with the Texans is their name. They couldn’t come up with a better name than that? And it was even used twice before, most recently by the now-Kansas City Chiefs.
tracey marie July 15th, 2015 at 14:40
They took a poll, this is what texas came up with. Sad
Larry Schmitt July 15th, 2015 at 14:51
Houstonians have no more imagination than that?
tracey marie July 15th, 2015 at 14:58
nope.
illinoisboy1977 July 15th, 2015 at 12:17
I would have to see expenditures vs. revenue, before coming up with a solid opinion. On one hand, the stadium owner should have to repay that taxpayer money, with interest. On the other hand, how much extra yearly tax revenue is generated by many of those fans hitting the bars, restaurants and hotels, before and after the games? I honestly don’t know how the numbers work out and I haven’t been able to locate any kind of reliable data. Can someone point me in the right direction, please?
Larry Schmitt July 15th, 2015 at 12:31
History shows that, even where the owner pays the actual construction costs of the stadium as with the Yankees, the infrastructure costs to the city are substantial. And with a city like New York (the same would be true of LA), which is a major tourist destination with or without the team, any claims of additional revenue usually don’t pan out. The new Yankee Stadium did not draw thousands of additional tourists to New York, nor did it convince locals to spend additional money there.
Dwendt44 July 15th, 2015 at 12:32
At least the Green Bay Packers aren’t going to leave for nicer digs. The city owns the majority of the shares, so the team stays put. Anytime a state forks over money for a new stadium, they should get a say in the team, if not a huge portion of the stock.
TuMadre, Ph.D July 15th, 2015 at 22:34
I’m with the author and John Oliver on this one. Stadiums are so far from a universal good that it isn’t even debatable. If teams want to build a stadium, that’s on them. If they want to abandon the stadium and move to greener pastures, the owners should still be paying property taxes (in the cities where they exist) on the land they own until they sell it to someone new.