Ralph Nader answers your questions about stadium costs
I don't care for Nader, in fact I'd probably run him over with a Corvair if I had the chance, but the above link is to his PIRG relating to public financing of stadiums. (I'm sure in Ralph's world that sports stadiums are a waste of valuable resources that could be allocated to the poor, or attorney's but I'm too lazy to read the whole thing.)
Most of them cost around $175 to $250 million. I believe the benevolent DeVos family has promised to kick in up to $10 million.
Florida deals:
Miami Heat
601 Biscayne Boulevard, Miami, FL 33132-1801
Primary Owner: Micky Arison
tel (305) 358-9844 / fax (305) 789-5933
American Airlines Arena (Opened in 1999)
Total Cost:
$241.3 million
$142 million, 59% of total (hotel and rental car tax)
Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Tropicana Field, One Tropicana Drive, St. Petersburg, FL 33705
Primary Owners: Group led by Vincent J. Naimoli
tel (727) 825-3137 / fax (727) 825-3111
Tropicana Field (Opened in 1990)
Total Cost:
$85 million
City (St. Petersburg) Public Subsidy:
$85 million, 100% of total (hotel and motel tax, gate and concession tax, general fund)
Tropicana Field (Renovation completed 1998)
Total Cost of Renovation:
$65 million
City (St. Petersburg), State Public Subsidy:
$51 million, 78.5% of total (hotel and rental car tax, gate and concession tax, general fund)
Jacksonville Jaguars
One Alltel Stadium Place, Jacksonville, FL 32202
Primary Owner: J. Wayne Weaver
tel (904) 633-6000 / fax (904) 633-6050
Alltel Stadium (Opened in 1946, Renovated in 1995)
Total Cost of Renovation:
$135 million
City, State Public Subsidy:
$122 million, 90% of total (hotel and rental car tax, gate and concession tax, general fund)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
1 Buccaneer Place, Tampa, FL 33607
Primary Owner: Malcolm I. Glazer
tel (813) 870-2700 / fax (813) 878-0813
Raymond James Stadium (Opened in 1998)
Total Cost:
$190 million
City Public Subsidy:
$190 million, 100% of total (sales tax)
Tampa Bay Lightning
Ice Palace Arena, 401 Channelside Dr., Tampa, FL 33602
Primary Owner: William Davidson
tel (813) 301-6600 / fax (813) 229-3350
St. Pete Times Forum (Opened in 1996)
Total Cost:
$139 million
$86 million, 62% of total (general fund)
posted by WeRDevos @ 8:19 PM
3 Comments:
At 9:15 PM,
Matt said…
If I am not mistaken, nothing is given for free. The cost of construction coming from public funds or private investors inclusive of interest is typically recovered in ten years in forms of rental payments and/or profit sharing. The problem starts if payment is based on profit sharing only, and the franchise shows no profit.
At 9:01 AM,
Matt said…
I am not sure we could take the word subsidy for its virtual meaning. These deals are typically very complicated when they come to details. I might be wrong given the nature of these ventures (high risk-low yield), as Tragic Fan has pointed out, as well. I have to do more research, and while I will try to do that, I solicit your input.
At 10:08 AM,
WeRDevos said…
Not sure where to look for it, but the State of Florida offers about $50 million (over 20 years?) in tax breaks to pro sports teams that commit to long term leases on new facilities.
The interesting deal was Tampa Stadium that was primarly paid for by car rental sales taxes. 25 million passengers a year come through Orlando, hit the car renters up $10 a piece and you can pay a lot of bond bills.
But first the Magic need to develop a positive image so the public will vote for it. And if you haven't been there yet, Tampa Stadium is very nice.
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