“I would love to see the time when sports teams have to pay for their own stadiums rather than sticking the taxpayers with the bill. Maybe this recession will finally reduce the number of cities willing to stick their citizens with the bill so that the pro teams will no longer be able to play one city off against another.”
The Islanders owner put a FULLY PRIVATELY FUNDED approach on the table four years ago called the Lighthouse Project. The local politicians (Republican Kate Murray of the Town of Hempstead) refused to allow the project to go forward.
They insisted on a smaller approach that wouldn’t have been profitable to build - (these are NY Repubs remember!). The county decided to go with a bond issue that would have been FULLY PAID by the revenue streams in a REVENUE-STREAM SHARING arrangement. That was what the bond vote was about last night.
It is not fair to talk about the Islanders owner building with his own money when that was what he offered to do the first time!
The Islanders have been tenants for 40 years to a COUNTY-owned facility. That owner put very little back into the building over the 40 years and the building is in dis-repair.
Or do you believe a renter should pay for putting up a new house and then renting it from the owner? The owner needs to put some money in too!