[.cnI redruM]

David Hallstrom lives in Chicago. He served as Assistant Deputy Director for Economic Development for Illinois for eight years and authored economic impact reports for Comiskey Park and the Kane County Cougars.

Care to place bets on where the 'Spoes will be playing in 2010?

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Monterrey sounds good. Lovely city--a little warm in the summer time, tho.

[smith288]

Care to place bets on where the 'Spoes will be playing in 2010?

I would like to know the over/under on how long this stays in breaking news.

[TBP]

The clear best choice is Washington DC.

DC has a stadium plan that will be passed as soon as the relocation is annkounced. It has a big-league stadium ready to go in 6 weeks.

The City Council has told Major League Baseball that it can pass the stadium bill in "two days."

DC is the only top 10 market without major-league baseball. It is one of the wealthiest markets in the country.

Metro goes right to the ballpark and to the preferred new site.

Its three minor-league teams (none in a convenient location) draw about 800,000 fans each year. Another 800,000 drive through dual rush hours to attend somebody else's team.

Washington outpaces all competitors by miles.

[TBP]

Weaknesses: Lost two franchises

So did New York.

[MikeD]

No one ever mentions San Antonio when speaking of potential major league cities. It's only the eighth largest city in the country now. OK, so it's the 30th largest metropolitan area, but we have a lot going for us. We have a large Hispanic population, and there are lots of Hispanic players in MLB. We support our only pro franchise (the Spurs) with an undying love. We're close enough to Houston and Arlington to be natural rivals, but far enough away that we won't compete for the same fans.

I know, it will never happen, but a National League fan can dream, can't he?

MD

[Clinging Bitterly]

We hear about his a lot in Oregon. Several of our politicians are bound and determined to publicly finance a stadium project in Portland for them. The latest scheme is to use income tax paid by the team's millionaire players and management to finance the project. Something about that idea smells kinda foul to me.

On the other hand, if a special interest would have it's tax money dedicated exclusively to a specific purpose like that, I have some special ideas for the use of the taxes I pay too. Equal protection would surely apply here, would it not?