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The San Francisco 49ers Thursday night game against the Los Angeles Rams kicked off in front of a nearly empty stadium. Los Angeles Times reporter Lindsey Thiry tweeted a photo at the time of kickoff, which showed thousands of open seats. In fact, most sections in the photo have more empty seats than fans.

[snip]Subsidizing ballparks for billionaire owners and millionaire players, however, shouldn't be part of the equation. According to the Brookings Institution, the stadium loophole has cost federal taxpayers $3.2 billion for 36 professional sports facilities since 2000. Maybe bringing together two senators from vastly different states and from widely different ideologies — U.S. Sen. James Lankford, an Oklahoma Republican, and U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, a New Jersey Democrat — will help inspire a fractious Congress to work together on a bipartisan bill to cut federal subsidies for sports stadiums. The bill would end the federal tax giveaway for municipal bonds used...

The Arkansas Legislature has passed SB 724. It rolls back a number of reforms passed with HB 1249 only 10 days ago.  SB 724 had overwhelming support in the House and Senate. So did HB 1249. The final vote in the House on March 30th was 71-20 with 9 "other". In the Senate, on March 31, it was 23-7, with 5 "other".  From the NRA-ILA: SB 724 would undermine some of the key concealed carry advancements made with the recent passage and enactment of House Bill 1249, which was signed by Governor Asa Hutchinson on March 23 as Act...

A badly burned body found on the floor of a River North parking garage early Tuesday has been identified as a 60-year-old real estate attorney, officials said. Louis S. Cohen, 60, was of the 200 block of Ivy Lane in Highland Park, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. An autopsy Wednesday was pending and did not determine a cause and manner for Cohen’s death, the office said. Just before 6 a.m. Tuesday, police and fire crews responded to a fire in the 11th floor of a parking garage in the 300 block of North LaSalle Drive and found...

A car bomb followed by a suicide bombing left 29 people dead and 166 wounded Saturday night outside a soccer stadium in central Istanbul. Authorities said that a car bomb detonated by remote control was followed 45 seconds later by a suicide bomber. All but two of those killed were police officers, authorities said.

Chargers’ stadium vote fails miserably, clouding future in San Diego A ballot measure in San Diego that would have raised hotel taxes to pay for a new Chargers stadium came up far short of the required two-thirds vote Tuesday, leaving the team with an uncertain future in the city. Measure C, as the initiative was known, would have allowed city officials to raise hotel-room taxes from 12.5 percent to 16.5 percent and use that revenue to pay for a new downtown stadium and convention-center annex next to Petco Park, where the Padres play baseball. But the measure received support from...

After a slowdown in the past few years, crony capitalism — whereby politicians give special favors to politically connected businesses — is on the move in Michigan. The state racked up nearly $10 billion in liabilities during the tenure of former Gov. Jennifer Granholm, with the backing of Republican legislators. The state will be paying the cost of these favors for decades. It already consumes more than $1 billion of the current state budget. But Gov. Rick Snyder came into office and worked to wean the state off the practice of giving out tax credits (though not many other subsidies)....

A bill to raise hotel taxes to fund an NFL stadium for the Oakland Raiders and a convention center expansion has crossed its first hurdle in the Nevada Legislature. The Nevada Senate voted 16-5 on Tuesday to approve the measure. Democratic opponents have said they oppose putting public funds to a project backed by billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, while Republican opponents oppose raising taxes.

The Chargers stadium ballot measure is falling far short of the support needed for approval on Nov. 8 and backing for the initiative is shrinking instead of growing, according to a Union-Tribune/10News poll released Friday. The survey shows 41 percent of likely voters say they are certain to vote against Measure C and 36 percent say they are certain to vote for it. The remaining 23 percent describe themselves as “not certain.” If uncertain voters are removed from the results, the measure is opposed by 53 percent and supported by 47 percent, far short of the two-thirds support — 66.7...

Over 15,000 Muslims gathered in the parking lot of Angel Stadium on Monday morning to celebrate Eid al-Adha (the “Sacrifice Feast”), the second of two major Islamic holidays that occurs during the time of the annual hajj pilgrimage. The hajj is a mandatory religious pilgrimage for Muslims that must be carried out at least once in each Muslim’s lifetime. Eid al-Adha is a four-day festival marking the end of the hajj pilgrimage. “We had two services, and many people ended up praying outside the fence because there was no room,” Nicole Bovey Alhakawati, spokeswoman for the Islamic Institute of Orange...

When Detroit's semipro soccer team needed a bigger stadium to accommodate its growing fan base, it did something unusual. Instead of seeking tax breaks or subsidies to support its ambitions, it turned to private supporters, mostly fans. It did so with the help of the Michigan Invests Locally Exemption or MILE Act. Detroit City FC raised $741,250 from 527 investors to refurbish Hamtramck’s Keyworth Stadium. The team’s first game at its new home, on May 13, was a sellout with 7,410 tickets sold. That was more than double the 3,500 tickets it was limited to selling when the team played...

A German newspaper is reporting that a soccer match in Hannover was canceled because an ambulance full of explosives was found out front following a bomb threat. There was no immediate confirmation of that report, though the Hannover chief of police was quoted by multiple sources as saying "there was a device intended to be detonated inside the stadium."

PARIS - Shootings and explosions erupted in the Paris area on Friday night, and French news services said at least 39 people were dead, dozens wounded and others taken hostage in what appeared to be coordinated militant attacks. French television reported that one of at least two explosions had struck near Paris at the country's main sports stadium, forcing the hasty evacuation of President François Hollande. The explosion occurred during a France-Germany soccer match. The shooting broke out at a popular concert hall, The Bataclan, where a death metal band was playing, and the France 24 website said dozens of...

While ongoing reportage of the Donald Trump Traveling Tijuana Donkey Show crashes into the latest revelations from Hillary Clinton's Personal Email Server Fun Times Revue, there's more pedestrian scandal taking place in plain sight. This one involves Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, who's running on his tough-as-nails budget-cutting credentials. Come tomorrow, Walker will commit no less than $400 million of taxpayer money to a stadium deal to keep the NBA Bucks in Milwaukee: The state would put $250 million toward the arena, with interest adding up over decades. The subsidy, approved last month with bipartisan support in Wisconsin’s Republican-controlled legislature,...

Some controversy is swirling around the new Vikings Stadium, as some are saying the project could be millions of dollars over budget. One member of the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority is speaking out on the issue and facing opposition from other members. Duane Benson has served as the MSFA treasurer since the group's inception back in 2012, however, he is preparing to leave the group in light of recent turmoil and says the $1.1 billion project's finances are anything but in order at the moment. As the groundbreaking project continues to break the bank, Benson says there is a problem--perhaps...

The Obama Administration will not support a new Washington football stadium unless the team changes its name, according to Jonathan O'Connell of the Washington Post. Washington currently does not play in D.C., but there has been a push to get a new stadium approved and built there. RFK Stadium occupies the site where Washington has targeted a potential new stadium. However, a lack of support from the current administration would be a serious roadblock to the efforts. While the Obama Administration can't make the ultimate decision on whether a new stadium is built, it can put pressure where it's needed,...

RIOTING broke out at MetLife Stadium tonight at the Summer Jam Concert. It was a hip hop/rap concert hosted by Hot 97. Tyson TrishVerified account ‏@tysontrish OC gas being deployed outside MetLife Stadium Summer Jam concert @NorthJerseybrk East Rutherford, NJ Protesters threw bottles and glass objects at the police.East Coast 911 reported: EastRutherford Personnel continue to operate at MetLife Stafium, the venue for the Hot 97 Summer Jam music event this evening, where a riot & multiple fights broke out this evening. Law Enforcement personnel have had bottles/glass & other objects thrown at them. At least 1 trooper has been...

President Obama's latest budget proposal, released Monday, would eliminate tax breaks associated with city-funded professional sports stadiums. Many cities, when faced with either losing their teams to different areas of the country or ponying up taxpayer dollars to help owners finance a new, better stadium, choose the latter option. Some cities even contribute money when they're not in danger of losing the team. Surely, the cities of New York and Dallas (well, Arlington) did not think the Yankees or Cowboys would move away when their lawmakers approved $1 billion and $325 million contributions of tax-free debt, respectively, to help build...

The owner of the St. Louis Rams has announced intentions to build a massive new NFL stadium and entertainment complex in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood. Stan Kroenke revealed the grand plan to the LA Times on Monday. In addition to an 80,000-seat stadium, the billionaire and his partners are proposing an adjacent 6,000-seat performance venue. Los Angeles was home to the Rams from 1946 to 1994 and, as St. Louis scrambles to come up with a plan for a new stadium in order to retain the team, the City of Angels appears ever more likely to get a...

~SNIP~ "Those willing to pitch in are being instructed to show up at the Lincoln County entrance and bring two forms of ID, with one being either a Social Security card or a birth certificate. Also, you must be 18 or older." ~SNIP~