Posted on 06/07/2022 5:07:51 AM PDT by Jacquerie
Gov. Ron DeSantis red-lined the $35 million budget item approved by the House and Senate to build a youth sports complex in Pasco County. The Rays clearly hoped to move their spring training headquarters there from Port Charlotte.
DeSantis gave two reasons for the veto.
The first: the Governor said he doesn’t “support giving taxpayer dollars to professional sports stadiums, period.”
He’s not wrong there.
But the other reason was more in line with his “think like I do, or else” agenda.
After the massacre in Uvalde, Texas, the Rays donated $50,000 to Everytown for Gun Safety. They tweeted:
“We all deserve to be safe — in schools, grocery stores, places of worship, our neighborhoods, houses, and America,” the Rays posted. “The most recent shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde have shaken us to the core. This cannot become normal. We cannot become numb. We cannot look the other way.”
They added, “We all know, if nothing changes, nothing changes.”
The Governor, who favors no-license open so-called “constitutional carry” in Florida, was not amused. Since he said he planned to veto the ballpark plan anyway, why not use it as an example for those who disagree with him.
DeSantis said it was “inappropriate to subsidize political activism of a private corporation. So I think, either way, it’s not appropriate.”
Just ask the Walt Disney Co. about its return on investment after it got crossways with the Governor. We remember that, right?
(Excerpt) Read more at floridapolitics.com ...
How about everyone who contributed (through their taxes) gets free annual passes and free beers and hotdogs for life ...
“Read “Stealing From Each Other” years ago. These Sports complexes built by taxpayers are not a good investment. Teams could cut player salaries for funding. Folks could use those tax funds for better infrastructure that benefits all.”
IMO the only time taxpayer money should be used for these stadiums is to improve the transportation infrastructure leading to/from the stadium providing the team(s) pay 50% of the cost.
KMA, Joe Henderson.
Pure virtue signaling by the Rays.
$50,000 is a tip for the clubhouse boy.
You missed a bullet point, Sam.
* Politicians fall all over themselves to score invites to the owner’s luxury suite..
Something like that....who will run for vp if trump runs in 2024? Noem? DeSantis? Hawley? Cruz? Kennedy?
musk...
heads will explode... 😁
Excellent move Governor.
And remember, even thought Governor Ron has quite a sterling baseball background, he doesn’t need to wave it around and doesn’t claim how he wants “to give back”. Well, it isn’t his money; it is the money of Florida taxpayers.
Dear Rays Management: that is one heck of a return on investment, huh? Give $50,000, and watch a $25 million handout go POOF.
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