Pay For Stadiums

Taxpayers should not be forced to pay for stadiums from which they do not profit. The public often gets a poor return on investment, and sometimes, stadiums aren’t used or aren’t even standing by the time taxpayers are done paying for them. Meanwhile, owners of the team and leagues that use the stadiums reap the benefits often almost free of charge. According to the TPA, the NFL is expected to make about $14 billion in profits this year, but has received over $7 billion in taxpayer money over the past two decades to fund stadiums, which includes over $600 million to the Dallas Cowboys and $424 million to the Cincinnati Bengals. Despite the massive profit margins of professional sports, taxpayers and the public still often have to spend their

While local neighborhoods may benefit from stadiums, at a city-wide level the benefit is negligible at best. Taxpayers have grown tired of paying for stadiums for the rich to profit off of, it’s become difficult for the public to get a return on investment in recent years. LA Times’ Natalie Kitroeff states that “Football stadiums aren't spurring local economies, a growing body of new research shows, because they're used infrequently and don't offer consistent, year-round employment. The facilities are also becoming more expensive, especially over the past two decades as owners have pushed for renovations, contending that their stadiums need luxury boxes and other niceties to stay competitive” (Kitroeff, 2017). Stadiums don’t spur the local economy, don’t create consistent jobs, and are only increasing in price. Local businesses don’t benefit either, because stadiums today are often designed to consolidate dining and shopping as a part of their experience. The cost of stadiums for taxpayers has never been worth it, but as time goes on the return on investment has gotten even worse for the

Taxpayers are not only paying for something from which they won’t profit, but a stadium is never a sure investment. It’s always possible that the stadium won’t have the desired benefits that are promised, and sometimes teams will even leave or demand another new stadium before the public is even done paying for the old one. Elaine Povich of PBS states that taxpayers are on the hook for the price of stadiums for years, sometimes even after the team leaves town. St. Louis is still paying $6 million per year on debt for the Edward Jones Dome, which opened in 1995, despite the Rams’ move to California in 2016. When the public gets stuck with the bill, there’s no guarantee of even keeping the team around the whole time the city is paying for their stadium. It’s a risky investment, and almost always a poor one. The return on investment almost never works out, and when it does there is still minimal gain for the local public. Often, teams will also use shady techniques to have taxpayers cover the bills for future repairs as well. According to Neil deMause at The Guardian, a clause was buried deep inside the agreement that allowed the city of Atlanta to subsidize a new stadium for Falcons owner Arthur Blank. The clause allowed any money collected from hotel taxes after the first $200 million would be put into a “waterfall fund” allowing the team to use that money for future maintenance, operation, and improvement of the