Posted on 09/07/2010 7:37:32 AM PDT by Mobile Vulgus
Whenever I think of this new Staples sports stadium deal going down in Los Angeles I can't help but think of the "bread and circuses" that contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire. Here is the City of L.A. sinking millions into this entertainment project leaving the people destitute and all for what? After all, as I wrote in the last column, these stadiums don't seem to pay for themselves. So why is LA doing this? Is it just the prestige of having a football franchise?
Is having a football franchise enough of a palladium to justify sinking millions of tax dollars into a project like this? The city and the state it is in are going bankrupt, yet the city fathers of Los Angeles are pursing this football team with stars in their eyes. Is this the sort of hard-nosed, grown-ups we want leading our government?
Even more ridiculous is the plan to tear down a portion of the convention center to build the stadium. In a city starving for revenue does it make any sense to tear down a facility that brings in money and to leave that space fallow until the new stadium is finally finished years later?
We have but to look at the Olympics to dash the idea that sports venues built and supported by tax dollars will pay for themselves. Few to none of the Olymics projects have returned on the investment anywhere in the world. Interestingly, one of the few Olympics to be held to a revenue neutral standard was the 1984 games held in L.A. If they could do it then, why can’t they do the same thing today with a new stadium deal...
Read the rest at Publiusforum.com...
What kind of stadium is this?
It’s one where taxpayers are thrown to the politicians.
The NFL still wants a franchise in LA. There are talks that one of two team my leave their current city. I believe one of them is Jacksonville.
Don’t forget that AEG built a tennis stadium (next to the soccer stadium) that no longer has an event. The WTA used to play there but quit that stop this year. And they built it all on the land of CSU Dominguez Hills with a deal to give a portion of revenues back to the city/school. They also discontinued the X GAMES section that was put on there, by consolidating it all at the Staples Center and the Coliseum. They don’t care who feels the ill effects of their dealmaking.
I still say it makes more sense for the Chargers to move to LA.
The nice thing about not having a team in LA is that owners who want a new stadium can use LA has a negotiating tactic.
If LA gets a team, it makes it much more difficult for teams to get cities to build new stadiums. That’s bad for existing teams and bad for the NFL.
Rams left LA for St. Louis years ago. Raiders moved from Oakland to LA back around 1980 and then back to Oakland. Bottom line, LA has been a abyss for NFL franchises. People out there love the USC Trojans and UCLA Bruins, they have little appetite for a NFL team ... support has always been lukewarm and will continue.
How about the NFL moves the Lions to LA and gives Detroit an expansion franchise?
In southern california we have thousands of things to do besides going to some dufus sports event. There is a false perception that when people are fans of some team that , that actually means something. It doesn’t. People act like if they are a raiders fan, it some how makes them an owner of that team. It doesnt. People in LA have moved on from football, base ball and basketball. There is far more interesting things to do than to watch a sport for hours per weekend when you can be living your life actively yourself. I hope this stadium idea fails completely.
Joe Robbie built a stadium for the Miami Dolphins with his own money.
And his family had to sell the team and stadium to pay inheritance taxes.
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