Stadium Blackmail

One can see the most obvious example of this in the NFL...the open market in LA just got the normally quite parsimonious citizens of Minnesota to cough up about $500 million for a new Vikings stadium. The Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints almost certainly have LA to thanks for their new or upgraded stadiums as well. All in all, LA is probably worth more to the NFL without a team than with a team.

 Who pay for these expensive,single sport facilities? Increasingly , the tax payer foots the bill. Many owners have demanded that local municipalities pay all or part of the price tag for a stadium. A1997 Los Angeles times study of 75 newly proposed ,planed ,or built sports facilities found that 66 % of them used a combination of public and private financing, and just 14 % are paid for with solely private money.

 Cities and states have not always accepted this agreement without a fight. Votters in Pittsburgh shot down  a proposal to built new football and baseball stadiums with public funds in fall of 1997.Referendums to built a new baseball stadium in San Francisco Bay Area failed four times between 1987 and 1992. The Gaints baseball team finally went ahead with a privately financed facility , Pacific Bell Park, which is scheduled to open in downtown San Francisco in April 2000.

Many others activities also seen in those situation.