Do stadium construction jobs justify taxpayers money?
I found this at The Fanhouse today. Barack Obama was asked if having the taxpayers dollars pay for the renovation of Soldier Field was the right choice. He responded with
Does the building of the stadium in itself help the local economy that much? I would imagine it helps, but I doubt it justifies the hundreds of millions of dollars of tax payers dollars. What about the jobs it provides year in and year out as the team sticks around? What about the local bars and restaurants around the arena or stadium? What about the impact on bringing the community together around a common interest?
Well I guess if the $300M that Clay Bennett is asking for is paid for in the jobs created for construction alone we might as well buck up right away! Why can’t we just sit down Bennett, Obama, and Christine Gregoire. We’d have the new arena by next month right? Oh wait, it’s Seattle, that won’t happen.
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The net result of building a new stadium funded by taxpayers is this…the voice of the overall few who care about the team and the events that will be at the new arena does not equal the supremely bosterious voice of those who do not support paying for the stadium / arena / ballpark. Thus / because of this discrepancy of voices heard, it seems as though the masses are asked to pay for a building that they as a collective voice do not want and that few unheard voices want.
In actuality, I would suggest that actual benefit to the tax paying people does not equal the benefit that they receive directly. However, one cannot discount in any way the HUGE benefit that is felt by the city (exposure to brand Seattle) for having said professional franchise, which translates to overall benefits for its residents, though not directly and in an unquantifable amount by this author, which to them does not justify the taxes paid. Maybe we could ask Paul de Podesta and his computer (read Moneyball by Michael Lewis if you do not understand) to get some numbers for us, eh!
I would argue that the overall beneift is worth the cost, which is being noted by a sports, but not professional sports, fan.