D.C. Mayor Asks for 338 Million Taxpayer Dollars for New Baseball Stadium

Cato Daily Dispatch ^ | May 9, 2003 | Wyatt Dubois, ed.

[bruinbirdman]

"Mayor Anthony A. Williams is asking the D.C. Council to approve $338 million in city government funding for a new ballpark and renovations to RFK Stadium, a package larger than he had previously disclosed and millions of dollars more than other areas bidding for a team have offered," according to The Washington Post.

"The two other bidders, Northern Virginia and Portland, Ore., offered less than $300 million in public funding for a stadium. Williams had previously said that he would not go higher than that amount."

In "Squeeze Play: Do Baseball Stadiums Need Our Bucks to Get Built?", Raymond J. Keating, author of the Cato Policy Analysis, "Sports Pork: The Costly Relationship between Major League Sports and Government", writes: "Team owners say they need taxpayer assistance because sports facilities can't possibly be built otherwise. Of course, this ignores the fact that in the early part of this century, most sports venues came to life without any government assistance.

"Indeed, almost all sports-happy politicians justify subsidies by claiming that stadiums and arenas are economic engines, and they point to supporting reports from hired-gun consultants that amount to the worst kind of economic guesswork. More realistic economic analyses examine actual changes in the economy resulting from the presence of stadiums and arenas. These studies have consistently found no positive impact from professional sports, or even a possible negative.

"Considering stadium-related tax increases and expansion of government, this should surprise no one."

[Guillermo]

I thought Republicans were the only ones for Corproate Welfare...

[bmwcyle]

This is a waste of money and the owners need to pay for it themselves.

[Willie Green]

I thought Republicans were the only ones for Corproate Welfare...

When it comes to Casino Gambling and Sports Pork, the Republicrats all think alike.

[SJSAMPLE]

Real cities, no symbolic capitols, have "funded" their stadiums by fleecing incoming visitors at the airports and hotels. Anyone want to bet that this proposed DC boondoggle will "require" federal funding?

[CyberCowboy777]

Not when it comes to sports, it seems to be a mixed bag.

The State of Oregon is putting up the bond for a Baseball Stadium in Portland, OR.

Something dirty is going on with these "setups".

[the Real fifi]

I agree, absolutely. In only one case has this worked for the community--Green Bay-- where the members of the community OWN the team. The "take " to the city for these projects is always overrated and the true costs underrated, and the owners move wheneve they feel like it. If DC wants to up revenue it should have sales tax free days so they can compete with the suburbs where land and labor costs are less..One day a month no sales tax on restaurants, one on other purchases.

[the Real fifi]

I agree, absolutely. In only one case has this worked for the community--Green Bay-- where the members of the community OWN the team. The "take " to the city for these projects is always overrated and the true costs underrated, and the owners move wheneve they feel like it. If DC wants to up revenue it should have sales tax free days so they can compete with the suburbs where land and labor costs are less..One day a month no sales tax on restaurants, one on other purchases.

[Guillermo]

I will have to agree with you on that one.

There is no difference b/w the Dems and GOP when it comes to funding ballparks for billionaires, or taxing the poor and stupid through lotteries and casinos.

[Guillermo]

Baseball stadium in Portland? Whatever for?

I don't think MLB is in an expansion phase...are they trying to get a team to jump there?

[vollmond]

For a song they could have let Jack Kent Cooke renovate RFK stadium (on the Metro line, no less), and negotiated dual baseball/football use with him. Instead, they're looking at $338 million in public funding in an unfavorable economic climate just to get the baseball team, and the Redskins play in a hell-hole stadium in the wilds of Maryland. Idiots.

My stand is - no public funding. Baseball attendance is dropping, and teams will be folding or looking for anyplace to move to bail themselves out. The only good place left for a team is DC (and Havana in the future). Let them come to us begging, we don't need to bail them out right now.

[Lysander]

... a waste of money and the owners need to pay for it themselves.

He needs to consult with Bush. He can show him how to plunder public assets for private gain in the name of sports.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

This is extortion by millionares.

[pepsionice]

There is a rumor around that the Montreal Expos will be moving to DC. The question is which idiot will buy the franchise...especially for the DC area. You have to remember that no DC team has ever turned a big profit. If you are lucky...you might get 15,000 fans out on a Friday night. When you add up crime, traffic, and little local enthusiasm for baseball...it just doesn't work.

But behind the scenes...the MLB has been trying to find the right owner for the team, to take them to DC. The stadium is in poor condition and needs major renovation to attract customers. They need to start the project by the end of the summer, in order to meet conditions for next spring. With such a small tax revenue base in DC...I can't see how the local folks will go along with this...and the FEDs will have to cough up $200 million of the 338 million I bet.

Major league baseball is in a bad state currently...with the customer base going downhill. I can't see any wealthy folks coming up to buy this team for $120 million (rumored asking price). Its all a big joke for the most part.

[Guillermo]

I know about the Expos leaving...

The Expos have the best farm system in baseball, and have for a long time now.

If they ever had an owner who was willing to fork over some cash to keep the players they identify and develop, they would win the World Series almost every year.

[DonQ]

It's worth remembering that DC hasn't had a baseball team (the Senators) for over 35 years. Over the last 15 years or so various local leaders have tried either to attract an existing team or organize a new one ... and failed utterly.

A few years ago, at enormous expense, a new football stadium for the Washington team (the Redskins, although some media refuse to use the team's name) went up ... not inside Washington but in Arlington, Virginia. Virginia businesses are raking it in for the team that nominally belongs in DC.

Not every sport in DC turns out profitable. There's a women's pro soccer team (the Freedom) that just barely attracts enough of a crowd to justify lighting up the stadium (there have been suggestions of improving the ticket sales by playing topless). The pro basketball team, the Wizards (formerly the Bullets, but that name wasn't too auspicious for a city that was in the top ten for homicides), had lousy attendance, hired Michael Jordan - first as a manager and lots of people in the bleachers turned away from the game floor to stare at Jordan in the manager's skybox, then as a player - and finally figured that even he wasn't breathing enough life into the franchise and let him go.

I might be more supportive of using public funds for a ballpark if there were some sort of money back guarantee if the team doesn't make a profit.

[husky ed]

The real reason they want to build this stadium is so they can get all the unarmed victims in one spot. That way the armed criminals won't have to overwork themselves making an unhonest buck.

Plus the cops only have one place to go to take all of the reports for arm robberies for the night.
Of course taking burgary reports is a different matter.

[CyberCowboy777]

Expos are moving

Portland and D.C. are at the top of the list.

[Guillermo]

So Portland wants to spend $300MM+ in the hope that the Expos move there?

[Frankss]

They have a stadium-they lost the baseball team! They had a football team but they went away to play in Maryland. Mr. Mayor,please concentrate on preventing violent crime,DC is one of the worst. Worry about education, DC has one of the worst education records in the nation (in spite of spending more per pupil than any juristiction in the nation, $13,000 per student per year) Fix the streets, they are terrible!