sports stadium news and analysis
In case you missed it, sports economist/meme master J.C. Bradbury has a new book on sports subsidy deals due out soon: This One Will Be Different details the latest in stadium and arena deals and why they never pay off for the public, with a particular focus on the Atlanta Braves extraction of money from Cobb [ ]
The standard stadium playbook was laid out by Joanna Cagan and myself back in Chapter 4 of Field of Schemes, “The Art of the Steal,” and hasn’t changed much since. The move threats, promises of illusory fiscal windfalls, warnings of obsolescence (whether physical or economic) and so on have To keep reading this Field of [ ]
After months of public debate, the Portland city council voted 8-4 yesterday to approve spending $120 million toward renovations to the Trail Blazers arena, plus $275 million for upgrades over the next 20 years. But the term sheet it approved included several major new conditions — most prominently, that the team start paying rent, starting [ ]
Ever since Tampa councilmember Bill Carlson announced a few days ago that he d be willing to consider casting a swing vote for a Tampa Bay Rays stadium if the city s share came out of a different pot of property tax money, I ve been engaged in a weird, slow-motion discussion with Carlson on the former Twitter [ ]
The Portland city council is set to vote on a term sheet today for the proposed $600 million Trail Blazers arena renovations deal, and it may not look like the one that was initially proposed. Late yesterday, four councilmembers issued a proposed amendment with revised terms that include team owner Tom Dundon paying $2 million [ ]
A Kansas City council committee was all set yesterday to consider allocating $20 million to a Royals stadium fund for something unspecified, when Mayor Quinton Lucas abruptly pulled it from the meeting agenda because democracy: “I believe that even in representative democracy, i.e. going through city council meetings, you have a fair opportunity not just [ ]
Buffalo Bills ownership held an open practice on Sunday to show off their new $2.1 billion stadium (public cost: $1 billion and change), and it did not go well: Other Bills fans pointed out that many of the new stadium s seats are not obstructed, but that didn t do much to quell the online furor, especially after [ ]
Uproar continues to grow over Multnomah County hiring a negotiator in the Portland Trail Blazers arena renovation fight who has a curious resume: Chair Jessica Vega Pederson disclosed Thursday that she had tapped former Trail Blazers executive Chris Oxley to represent the county as it worked with Portland officials on a framework aimed at keeping [ ]
I m on the road today, but did want to briefly note that Tampa councilmember Bill Carlson, the likely swing vote on any Tampa Bay Rays stadium deal, has come out with his plan for a new way of funding the team s $2 billion stadium district subsidy demand: Tampa City Councilman Bill Carlson has proposed a new [ ]
One of several remaining shoes dropped in the Portland Trail Blazers arena renovation saga yesterday, as Multnomah County commissioners voted 4-1 to approve team owner Tom Dundon s term sheet for $100 million in county funding for the project. Or maybe just half a shoe, as three of the five commissioners voted not to use $35 million [ ]