New at Reason

Julian Sanchez | May 9, 2005

With a shocking lack of compassion for those poor souls vastly more fortunate than himself, Daniel McGraw looks at a pair of pending court cases that could put the kibosh on welfare for zillionaire sports franchise owners.

Comments

|5.9.05 @ 1:34PM|#

I think the tone of the article is a little too hopeful. You're just setting us up for disappointment.

|5.9.05 @ 2:32PM|#

Elvis may have a point - once governments have established those eminent domain precedents, it can be a bitch to try to roll them back. OTOH, it's clear that the publically-funded stadium mania is in full decline, with voters rejecting proposals nationwide. It was great to see Jesse Ventura body-slam the Twins' attempt to extort the city of Minneapolis for a new stadium.

Kudos and good luck to New London and Cincinnati!

|5.9.05 @ 3:30PM|#

LA is also taking the lead in ending Welfare For Millionaires & Billionaires.

The Staples Center is (mostly) paid for by private sources & LA refuses to pay for a stadium for an NBA team.

Watch out, though, when the Chivas de Guadalajara soccer team wants a new stadium, though.....

|5.9.05 @ 3:37PM|#

Watch out, though, when the Chivas de Guadalajara soccer team wants a new stadium, though.....

Now I see why Lonewacko is so worried: MEChA and the Mexican government are sending us sleeper cells as part of a plot to force the government to pay for a soccer stadium.

|5.9.05 @ 4:39PM|#

Puhleeze, MA and LA lead the way--no way! San Francisco--the voters even--shot down a new stadium for the 49ers years ago and got a sweet new baseball park privately.

|5.9.05 @ 4:54PM|#

And the NFL has always maintained that it is not 31 separate businesses but a single, 31-branch business?one that can?t be a monopoly because it competes for entertainment dollars in every market.

My first impulse is to say the chicanery behind the stadium deals is coming out and the NFL PR is taking some hits, so competition for the dollar maybe stiffening. Then I recall the 3 commericals I sat through before the start of Crash last night at the movie theater($10). Then there was the unreasonable groping of my body by security as I entered a club to see a local band ($17). And finally, the service I received (or the lack of) at a high end bistro sucked but I was still forced to pay the 15% gratuity automatically added into the bill ($135).

No, competition for my entertainment dollars is still running very strong. I think next time I will just stay home, listen to the game on a $10 AM radio, rent a movie, and grill up some hot dogs. Fuck the entertainment industry!

(Now back to your regulary scheduled thread.)

|5.9.05 @ 5:02PM|#

Right on Grumpy. I knew there was a reason I find myself staying at home so much more than I used to, and you've explained it very nicely.

|5.10.05 @ 10:09AM|#

Meanwhile, my fair city of Arlington, Texas, just voted to bend over to the tune of $325 million to help buy Jerry Jones a new stadium for his 'Boys. They just announced the site plan yesterday, and oops-- it already looks like they are going to have to buy/condemn more private property than originally thought. But don't worry, because the economic impact analysis commissioned by the Cowboys and the city says the new stadium will bring in over $275 million a year for Arlington-- yes, that's right, a $325 million investment that will return $275 million annually. Sounds plausible, huh?