Let them Leeave

Opinion 

     The myth that stadiums will bring economic prosperity is just that, a myth. The local economy doesn't generate profits, in fact, if the local government gave subsidies to the team owner to build or upgrade the stadium the city participated in cooperate welfare. The ticket sales and all the profits that go along with a team's stadium is meant to profit the owner not the city.

     I do not have an issue with taxpayers knowingly and willfully participating in helping out via public funds to build a sports stadium. The issue I have is that most owner's at the professional sports level demand assistance to fiance the stadium where their team will play and the owner will profit. In the majority of the cases the public does not get a say when city councils decide on making the subsidies available. 

     Team owners who are heavily in the business world understand that the amount of funding they receive from the city does amount to local economic prosperity. Any report or finding that claims to find any growth usually is focused on the stadium and not local business where the substitution effect is the reason for the economic 'growth'. The substitution effect is an explanation of what would happen if the stadium was not there, for the most part the money would still be circulating, but instead of going to the stadium it would go to other businesses. The point is that 'growth' is not an accurate way to describe stadium prosperity.

    If the city wants a team so be it. Plenty of people enjoy sports for leisure and a way to unwind after a long day from work. However, these hard working people should not be threatened by team owners when it comes to their beloved hometown team. Owners of a team will threaten to leave is the city does not provide some sort of public funding assistance, a hand out. This normally shifts in favor of the team owner and fans become angry at the city for allowing their sports team to leave. 

    The team owners are seen as the positive good guy while the city becomes this negative bureaucratic entity that hates the people. This is a simple con job by the team owner using the emotion of fear to get what they want. The people, for the most part, do not know that the funding the city provides to the team owner is their own tax dollars. 

    Which I will say this to all the fan bases in the world and urban developers, let them leave! Take their bluff, force them to find another town that will put up with their traffic jams and closed road due to hosting events. Let them leave to find another city that will give them handouts. An excellent example is the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). The people voted to deny the city from giving over 100 million dollars to the Charger's owner for a new stadium.

     The owner then decided his bluff was called and forced a move to Carson, California where the team shares a 27,000 capacity stadium with the LA Galaxy professional soccer team. I am not advocating for people to hate their teams or for city's to prevent construction projects on stadiums. All I ask for is transparency for the people of the city.