Posted on 06/22/2022 9:01:03 AM PDT by rintintin
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has picked another fight with progressive corporate America, this time the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team. When he signed the state budget last week, Mr. DeSantis zeroed out $35 million to help build a new site for the Rays’ spring training. “I don’t support giving taxpayer dollars to professional sports stadiums, period,” he said Friday.
This is a good policy that too few states emulate, and Florida taxpayers can be grateful that their Governor has a line-item veto and is willing to use it
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
Having MLB teams in Florida was a big mistake. Neither team draws fans as a large part of the population are transplants.
Eh. Wokeball is not helping but it's whatever to me and most fans like me.
You should watch Moneyball. A great movie with Brad Pitt in it. It's all about Sabrametrics, which has ruined baseball. It's a stupid move to steal a base when the next hitter can hit a home run. So as a result, now there are three true outcomes in baseball, a walk, a home run or a strike out.
And the National League just added the designated hitter. I hate that rule, it disrupts the flow of the game. Plus you take out strategy in the game so you don't really need a manager anymore. And each year, the game gets longer and longer.
Good. Next, go after the Bucs.
These large urban, crime ridden areas, with pot-holed streets and highways, always seem to find enough money for stadiums.
I was a big MLB fan. I was already about to drop them when they went all BLM. I believe Fenway in Boston still has "Black Lives Matter" painted on an exterior wall. When they pulled the All-Star Game out of Atlanta because Georgia passed a voter ID bill, I decided I was done with MLBLM for good. I don't need MLB to decide what laws should or should not be passed.
I have a lot more evenings free by not spending them watching baseball.
Best Gov. ever!
Those poor billionaires and millionairs are oppressed by DeSantis.
Agreed.
While I agree these deals tend to favor businesses/sports teams, the taxpayers benefit from tax revenue and commerce that a team brings to the area.
It’s true that there can be benefits from a local sports franchise, but the funding decision isn’t a zero-sum game. I can’t see any argument for the billionaire owners getting funds from taxpayers.
I’m sure that there are a dozen or so cities that would be willing to build the Rays a new stadium as well as a practice facility, and wouldn’t care what the corporate part of the team says. That would solve DeSantis’ problem completely.
If building and operating a stadium were a profit making venture, the teams would insist on building their own.
And each year, the game gets longer and longer.
*************
More space for commercials which overshadow the game IMO. There’s a flood of ads on radio and TV and even on the field itself.
I’ve seen Moneyball and how it drove player selection. Great movie.
Well, the argument that is used, and it makes sense if the deal is fair to both sides, is the sports team brings millions in new tax revenue through commerce.
Historically, governments have been hoodwinked into these deals with lofty projections that dont pan out. San Diego made a deal with the padres based on ticket sales that totally backfired on the city. I think bottom line is folks in government are not savvy enough to strike a good deal and the capitalist pigs savage the taxpayer.
I live in Tampa and would help load them up.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.