Posted on 10/22/2022 9:31:47 AM PDT by MinorityRepublican
With news today of the Tennessee Titans nearing a deal to build a $2.2 billion domed stadium, there are now two examples of NFL franchises securing hefty subsidies from state government as well as local taxpayers to build new football palaces. That prompts a logical question about the Carolina Panthers’ ongoing deliberations on a large-scale renovation or replacement of Bank of America Stadium: Will David Tepper’s team seek similar state funding — and would lawmakers be open to the idea?
“I do think Nashville is something we are going to see a lot of cities try,” J.C. Bradbury, a sports economist at Kennesaw State University, told CBJ. “Simply, when you look at the cycle of how stadiums tend to be rebuilt — teams like to replace stadiums after about 30 years, and there are going to be a lot more of these.”
Earlier this year, the state of New York committed $600 million to help pay for a new stadium for the Buffalo Bills. Including $250 million from local government, taxpayers will pay more than half the tab of $1.4 billion.
Bank of America Stadium opened in 1996. Construction costs were $248 million, or $469 million adjusted for inflation. The stadium was privately financed, with the largest source of funding generated by one-time season-ticket fees paid by fans. The only public money was a combined $60 million — $113.5 million today — from state and local government for site improvements and related infrastructure.
Tepper Sports & Entertainment, the Tepper entity that owns the NFL Panthers and Major League Soccer team Charlotte FC, also owns BofA Stadium. Tepper paid a then-record $2.275 billion in 2018 for the Panthers and the stadium. In 2019, he paid a record MLS entry fee of $325 million for Charlotte FC.
(Excerpt) Read more at bizjournals.com ...
Utter insanity! $31 TRILLION of national debt, massive recession underway with likely depression, stock market wealth wiped out, big unemployment coming...so what do we do? Piss away huge money on a useless sports stadium!
It pisses me off royally that professions sports teams don’t have to build their own damn stadiums.
Why doesn’t the government of the taxpayer build me a new office building?
It is beyond ludicrous. Criminal in my opinion.
With the kind of money that the NFL generates, they have no moral business asking for the Taxpayers to build their stadiums. Not at all!!!
David Tepper has a net worth of 18.5 billion dollars. He can find a loan from a bank to finance his brand new domed stadium that can host a Super Bowl, if that's what he wants.
You are far too kind. It is a 100% IMMORAL and DISGUSTING ABUSE of the citizens who pay their taxes.
I can see Buffalo building the stadium for the Bills. Buffalo is a city in the Rust Belt that is in decline. So they have leverage and they are using it with the city/state government. But Charlotte is a city in the Sun Belt with rapid population growth. David Tepper can move the Panthers to St. Louis, if he wants to do that.
Especially when the current stadiums are still perfectly good.
Like when the Rangers built their new ballpark even though the current one is still perfectly good.
These things never pay for themselves before sports teams demand a new one.
“I can see Buffalo building the stadium for the Bills. Buffalo is a city in the Rust Belt that is in decline.”
So you want to throw good money after bad? Who in their right mind would invest in an area in a 50 year downhill slide?
There’s no turning around most of the Rust Belt unless we get Trump or DeSantis back in office. Unfortunately, even when that happens, the turn-around would last a few years until the next Brandon wrecks all of it again.
Gee maybe they could have thought about that when Dumbya and Crew built it.
Let the billionaires build their own sports palaces.
If you're a politician in Buffalo, you'll do everything to keep the beloved Bills in town. Your voters will never forgive you if you refuse to build the stadium to "force" the Bills to relocate to a greener pasture. They don't have a problem with paying increased taxes to subsidize the billionaire owner of Buffalo Bills.
Idiots in Tampa (Hillsborough County) voted for a 0.5% tax increase back in ‘96 for the Bucs stadium. Why would people vote for a tax that only helps a couple of millionaires? Sure didn’t do anything for me when I lived in Tampa.
Now Charlotte is going to be reluctant to devote subsidies to a new stadium for David Tepper. Now the fans may see him as a clone of George Shinn.
Yet another slush-fund for 'rat campaigns?
The long running story is Dan Snyder refuses to invest in the upkeep of FedEx Field in the hope Virginia will build him a new stadium in NoVa.
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