Dollars & Sense - All Glass Everything

The latest wave of stadium renovations has brought about some imaginative ideas for how to build a mega sports palace.  When the pockets of billionaire owners are deepened by the seemingly endless yet also cash-strapped wallets of their city and state governments – and by extension, your wallet, if you live there – the imagination roams free with uninhibited reckless abandon. 

If you have not seen the designs for the Minnesota Vikings’ new stadium plan, then you should surely check them out.  The all-glass structure to let the beautiful sunlight in through its non-retractable roof looks to be on the same futuristic level as the Atlanta Falcons’ new stadium design.  Some say it looks like it should be on a Sandcrawler.  I think it looks like one of those robots from the old show Robot Wars.

 

Whatever your opinion is of the design, we can at least all agree that it is an ode to excess.  Just as the Falcons design is.  Just as is Marlins Park or Cowboy Stadium or the new Yankee Stadium.  

And as the rich get rich and we continue to privatize profits while publicizing debts, it is impossible to ignore the hefty price tag that will fall squarely on the shoulders of the Minnesota (namely Minneapolis) taxpayers. 

In total, the price tag of the new stadium is estimated to be in the $975 million range (I can’t imagine what they had to give up to keep the tag under $1 billion).  Almost half, $427 million to be exact, will come from the Vikings and a loan from the NFL.  The rest - $548 million – will come from the state of Minnesota ($398 million) and the city of Minneapolis ($150 million).  That means the Vikings’ new stadium will be 54% publicly financed, fourth most out of the last 10 NFL stadiums built.

According to Forbes, Minnesota senator John Marty estimated that under the current financing structure, the new Vikings stadium would cost the taxpayers $77.30 per ticket per game for 30 years.  And apparently the estimated does not even include the tax exemptions that the Vikings and the construction will receive in yet another sweetheart lease deal.

Funding for the project is already hitting a snag as the state tax on electronic pull tabs that was supposed to generate the first wave of revenue has come up short.  This is all coming from a state government that has already proposed $2 billion in new taxes and looked to cut $150 million from the state Health and Human Services budget that has already sustained over $1 billion in reductions in the past two years.  Oh yea, the state has a deficit of $627 million too (yes it is progress from the $1.1 billion that it was when Gov. Dayton took over two years ago).

Meanwhile, the anti-public-funding for the stadium oppositions continues to gain traction.  The problem is not necessarily that the rich get richer; it is how they are doing it.  We are living in a day and age where we pay more, get less, and are left wondering where exactly our money is going.  The people of Minnesota know where this money is going, and it is going straight into the pockets of Vikings owner Zygi Wilf and the NFL. 

With the government strapped for cash, their actions should be rooted in righting the course, not playing into billionaire profiteering.  If only the world were as transparent as the new Vikings’ stadium will be.

Follow Kevin Rossi on Twitter @kevin_rossi.

Dollars & Sense - Atlanta Falcons New Stadium

Sometimes I like to joke with people about being old.  Deep down, I know I'm not old.  But do you know what really makes me feel old?  The Atlanta Falcons have received financing for a new $1 billion stadium.  Their current stadium was built in 1992...

On Tuesday, Drew Rosen wrote about the Carolina Panthers looking for $250 million to $300 million in funds for renovations for their stadium.  They asked the city of Charlotte and the state of North Carolina for a total of $184.5 million of that $250 million total price tag.  To make matters all the more infuriating, Deadspin had acquired documents that pegged the Panthers' profit over the 2011 and 2012 seasons at almost $100 million.

The Falcons Stadium construction asked for $200 million of the $1 billion price tag to be tax payer funded.  Sure, percentage-wise it's not too high compared to the Panthers' ask, but $200 million is no small number for the currently cash-strapped government.  

(Interested in reading more about sports welfare? Check out Dave Zirin's "Bad Sports")

As if billionaire owners asking struggling cities for hundreds of millions of dollars for stadiums is not enough, just look at who exactly the owner of the Atlanta Falcons is.  

Arthur Blank.

If his name does not ring the bell of irony in this matter, I'll give you a quick lowdown.  Arthur Blank is the 70 year old billionaire owner of the Falcons.  Do you know how he made his fortune?  He made his fortune by being the - wait for it - co-founder of The Home Depot.  You know, the same orange Home Depot that preaches do it yourself.  

In the case of the Panthers, the city and state turned down their proposal.  And rightfully so.  Could threats of moving to Los Angeles be next?  Eh, maybe, only time will tell there.  The Falcons' proposal, though, was accepted.  

Although the Falcons' proposal for $200 million of their stadium to be taxpayer funded was accepted, it has not come without its public relations struggles.  According to an article published on Monday in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, groups are demanding a public vote on whether or not the city of Atlanta should be throwing so much taxpayer money towards the project.

I commend Charlotte and the state of North Carolina for holding their ground against the Panthers.  I also hope that the people of Atlanta vote against their money being used.  In a time where the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer, sports welfare has no place.  It's time for these billionaire owners to do it themselves.

Follow Kevin Rossi on Twitter @kevin_rossi.

NFL's Exciting Weekend

For NFL fans around the country this weekend was filled with extremely exciting playoff football. Anyone who is not a fan of the Broncos, Texans, Seahawks or Packers probably enjoyed watching the exciting games. Did the excitement lead to high TV ratings? Lets take a look.

Denver vs. Baltimore
This may have been the most exciting of the four games (it's difficult to decide). John Fox will be criticized for taking a knee with 30 seconds still left in the game, Manning will be criticized for throwing an ill-advisied pass that was picked off, Holliday will be remembered for memorable kick returns. To some the most memorable storyline of the double overtime game will be the continuance of Ray Lewis' career. Although Baltimore and Denver aren't known as monster TV markets, this great game sure got the viewers tuned in. The games TV rating was 20.1% of US households. This is up 9% from last year's Saturday AFC divisional game and is the highest rating for the Saturday AFC divisional game in 19 years. The game averaged 35.3 million viewers.

Green Bay vs. San Francisco
This game was not nearly as dramatic as the earlier Saturday game. A lot of scoring was featured and the country got to witness 49er's quarterback Colin Kaepernick play a truly unbelievable game. The TV ratings were mixed for this game. Fox's overnight rating was 18.7% of US households, which was the highest Fox rating for a Saturday prime time game since 1994, but the ratings were down 9% from last years comparable coverage of New England vs. Denver.

Atlanta vs. Seattle
This was my personal favorite game of the weekend. The Sunday earlier game provided the viewer with a true range of emotions. We watched Atlanta blow a 20 point lead with 30 seconds to go. Atlanta then marched down the field to hit a game winning 49 yard field goal. It was the first playoff victory for Matt Ryan and Tony Gonzalez. Seattle's Russell Wilson put on a great performance that nearly lead the Seahawks to a remarkable comeback win. The TV ratings for this game were very good. The 21.3% of US households rating was up 3% from the comparable coverage of Baltimore vs. Houston last year.

New England vs. Houston
Although Houston tried to make a comeback late, New England looked really good in this game. The Patriots offense looked great as usual even after losing 'Gronk' early on. This game did produce a solid TV rating of 23.8% of US households, but this rating was down considerably from last year. The Giants vs. Packers played in the Sunday primetime slot last year and that game had a 13% higher rating.

Final Thought
When looking at the TV ratings, it is important to remember that the US population is growing every year so it is natural for more viewers to be tuning in. I personally watched all of the games and enjoyed them greatly. I think it is important to remember that as great as the NFL is, it is far from flawless. It is the sport that ends athletes career's too soon, it destroys players lives post-football, and often takes the lives of people earlier than expected. It is a vicious sport that will never truly change unless the viewers stop tuning in (not going to happen) or a player actually dies while playing (probably still wouldn't change the sport). I am the first to admit that I am part of the problem, I watch the games knowing how much harm it is going to cause players. How many lives it will destroy. How many families will be devastated. I don't know if I will ever be able to stop watching the NFL even though I know the harm it causes. I certainly do not expect the American public to stop watching the NFL anytime soon.

@dmrosen7






Statistics via usatoday.com