billionaires have found one more way to funnel our tax dollars into their bank accounts sports stadiums [Applause] and if we don't play ball they'll take our favorite teams away ever notice how there never seems to be enough money to build public infrastructure like mass transit lines and better schools and yet when a multi-billion dollar sports team Demands a new stadium our local governments are happy to oblige a good example of this billionaire boondoggle is the host of the 2023 Super Bowl St
ate Farm Stadium that's where the Arizona Cardinals have played since 2006. it was built after billionaire team owner Michael Bidwell and his family spent years hinting that they would move the cards out of Arizona if the team didn't get a new stadium their Blitz eventually worked with Arizona taxpayers and the city of Glendale paying over two-thirds of the 455 million dollar construction Tab and State Farm stadium is not unique it's part of a well-established Playbook here's how stadiums stick
the public with the bill step number one billionaire buys a sports team just about every NFL franchise owner has a net worth of over a billion dollars except for the Green Bay Packers who are publicly owned by half a million Cheeseheads the same goes for many franchise owners in other sports their fortunes don't just help them by teams but also gives them clout which they cash in when they want to get a great deal on new digs for their team step number two billionaire pressures local government
since 1990 franchises in major North American sports leagues have intercepted upwards of 30 billion dollars worth of taxpayer funds from state and local governments to build stadiums and the funding itself is just the beginning of these sweetheart deals sports teams often get big property tax breaks and reimbursements on operating expenses like utilities and security on game days most deals also let the owners keep the revenue from naming rights Luxury Box Seats and concessions like the Atlanta
Braves 150 hamburger even worse these deals often put taxpayers on the hook for stadium maintenance and repairs we taxpayers are essentially paying for the homes of our favorite sports teams but we don't really own those homes we don't get to rent them out and we still have to buy expensive tickets to visit them whenever these billionaire owners try to sell us on a shiny new stadium they claim it will spur economic growth from which we all benefit but numerous Studies have shown that this is fal
se as a University of Chicago Economist aptly put it if you want to inject money into the local economy it would be better to drop it from a helicopter than invested in a new ballpark but what makes sports teams special is they're one of the few Realms of collective identity we have left billionaires prey on the love that millions of fans have for their favorite teams this brings us to the final step in the Playbook threaten to move the team obscenely Rich owners threatened to actually do RIP te
ams out of their communities if they don't get the subsidies they demand just look at the Seattle SuperSonics Starbucks founder Howard Schultz owned the NBA franchise but failed to Secure Public Funding to build a new stadium so the coffee magnite sold the team to another wealthy businessman who moved it to Oklahoma now that'll leave a bitter taste in your mouth the most egregious part of how the system currently works is that every dollar we spend building stadiums is a dollar we aren't using f
or mass transit hospitals housing or schools we're under funding public Necessities in order to funnel money to billionaires for something they could feasibly afford so instead of spending billions on extravagant stadiums we should be investing taxpayer money and things that improve the lives of everyone not just the bottom lines of profitable sports teams and their owners because when it comes to Stadium deals The Only Winners are billionaires [Music] thank you
Comments
What adds insult to injury with taxpayers being forced to pay for stadiums, is that those same taxpayers have to pay to enter the stadiums that they were forced to pay for.
It appears that once you use public money for the stadiums, the ownership of such stadiums SHOULD be a public entity.
This has been going on for decades. When the taxpayers funding these stadiums can't even afford tickets to events there... I believe that's a good example of irony. This has to stop. Thank you, Mr. Reich, for bringing up this issue.
I’ve been b**ching about this for years. Thank you for calling this crap out!
I live in Seattle, and there was once a meme I saw posted on a bus stop: $1 billion for a new stadium: Spongebob pulls out his wallet $150 million for a comprehensive public transportation system: Spongebob recoils in disgust How very true.
I'm a business graduate and really wish more people would start addressing these types of loopholes. Thank you Robert for shining a light on these corruptible elements.
If they want a new stadium, they should build it themselves... obviously they have the money. Yet ANOTHER example of corporate welfare. Who's railing against that? Yet, cut social safety nets?
Robert missed the dropping of the other shoe. Professional sports wasn't happy just preventing the average person from attending the games at the stadium. I remember when they tore down the affordable Shea stadium that critics said that Joe 6 pack would be priced out of the new stadium and Mets management said that was exactly their plan. The second shoe to drop was taking the ball games off of network television. Most of us did not notice the impact of this because the price to watch sports became part of our basic cable package, resulting in doubling of our cable bill. Customers were not given the option of opting out of professional sports coverage. This was not really clear to me until I cancelled my $200 basic cable plan and went WIFI only. That when I learned that just to watch the Mets would cost me $75 a month. If I also wanted to watch the Yankees that would be additional $75 a month. Not only can the average citizen not afford to watch professional sports at the stadium, he can no longer afford to watch it on television.
Back when I lived in the District of Columbia, I was so proud of my city's government for finally saying NO to Jack Kent Cooke, who was trying to ripoff D.C. taxpayers for a ton of money to either renovate or rebuild RFK stadium when he could damn well afford to pay for it himself the owner of things like the LA Lakers and the Chrysler Building in Manhattan for just a start. Lots of people were really pissed at city officials when JKC packed up his marbles and moved the team to suburban Maryland. I was glad because at least we didn't let him get away again with ripping off District taxpayers like when he blocked off a public alley and turned it into a private driveway, and eventually was granted legal ownership even after other residents of the neighborhood complained. No one should have the power to confiscate public property without permission and without paying for it. I'm glad the city didn't let him rip us off again with the new RFK Stadium which he was pushing DC residents to pay for. Screw that!
Been saying this for years, since Indy built their mega stadium when the old one was still not payed for, rolling it over like an auto loan scam
Appreciate Professor Reich's ability to break down economic issues in brief video format. I think one other important example of physical infrastructure to mention is HIGH SPEED INTERNET ACCESS, in addition to MASS TRANSIT, AFFORDABLE HOUSING, and PUBLIC HOSPITALS & SCHOOLS (not only did California's Madera County lose 700 good paying jobs when its only acute care hospital recently closed, that population is now at least a 30-minute drive away from the closest hospital with an emergency room).
Back in 2008, my parents treated themselves, me, my spouse, and our son to a Panthers game when the Broncos came to town. Five tickets cost us nearly $400.00 by themselves. We spent money on gas there and back, $20.00 for parking (cheap!!), $30.00 for lunch for three (inflated since it was so close to the stadium), about $20.00 for two foam fingers, and about $40.00 for a hot dog, a few burgers, and stadium cup sodas. We haven't been to see any major league teams since then, because we just can't afford it. And then you get into how expensive apparel and other memorabilia is these days. Jerseys typically start around $130.00, caps are $30.00-$40.00, t-shirts are anywhere from $20.00-$40.00, hoodies are $40.00-$85.00, and on and on. And, if you root for an out-of-market team, you can expect to shell out Eben more money for a team package. Expecting me and the other Grabowski's to foot the bill for a plush stadium that we cannot afford to attend all while the owners who are of means get to reap all the rewards is BS. It's going to continue until we stop cheering for these teams and stop buying their merchandise. It's why the Raiders fans in Oakland and Chargers fans in San Diego told the Davis's and Spanos's, "Piss off. Move the team. I don't care anymore. I am SO done with you." And it's why the A's can't get anyone to show up for their home games anymore. And it's why the people in St. Louis have no further interest in yet another NFL team. You want to threaten to leave unless I agree to raise my taxes all to build a newer stadium even less affordable than the current overpriced venue? I am going to tell you to pound sand. This garbage is going to continue until we the fans finally revolt and tell the owners to pony up their own money for their team's stadium.
San Diego did the smart thing when the Chargers tried to pull this. You'll move the team? Schools need funding; don't let the door hit you on the way out.
The only winners, are billionaires... Wow! That applies to so much in the good old USA. Bless you Professor. Thanks!
John Oliver did a special on this topic a couple years ago as well and it truly is ridiculous how the owners are not made to invest in upkeep or upgrades of their own companies but rather blackmail the cities and tax payers to do it for them.
Being a former employee of my local county government for 29 years I saw this first hand. We had 2 MLB teams spring training facilities in our county. The short story is all the spring training teams in Florida add about 1% in tax revenue during the historically busiest tourist season and they are only there about 8 weeks. The county built one team a new stadium about 10 years ago to keep the team from moving left the local city government which built the original stadium still on the hook with a $20,000,000.00 mortgage.
We must also realize how public schools are used as the recruitment ladders for players for these teams. Young people are pitted against each other and against the young people from adjacent towns bashing their brains out on the gridiron of a so-called public school system.
I have said the exact same thing and feel the same way, what a monopoly & what a disservice to taxpayers and their communities!
This is spot on, we shouldn't have to subsidize stadiums for ultra wealthy billionaires.
This really started in earnest with the Baltimore Colts. The city and state refused to give them money for a stadium, and they literally moved to Indianapolis in the middle of the night. Ever since then, people have been so spooked about a move that far too many municipalities give in for fear of relocation. European soccer stadiums are paid for entirely by the team, and they do just fine. What's really frustrating is that, as long as this is decided on the local level, if someone gives in, that ruins it for everyone else.