The Problem with Subsidizing Huge Stadiums for Billionaire Team Owners
September 13, 2013
The Nation’s
sports editor David Zirin tells Bill that Americans are paying for
expensive new sports stadiums in cities around the country to the
benefit of wealthy team owners, who lobby hard for their construction.
Zirin says the biggest irony is that many fans can’t afford tickets to
major league games, even though they paid for the stadium where their
favorite team plays — never mind those residents who aren’t sports fans.
He points to the Minnesota Twins stadium, opened in 2010, that was “built entirely with public money, even though it had been rejected a dozen times by the voters in various referendum.” Add to that problems that result when tight municipal budgets mean choosing between needed infrastructure projects and new stadiums. In Minnesota, Zirin notes, “the very week they were gonna break ground on the new stadium, the bridge collapsed in Minneapolis, sending about a dozen people to their deaths.”
Tune in this weekend or watch the full interview online.
He points to the Minnesota Twins stadium, opened in 2010, that was “built entirely with public money, even though it had been rejected a dozen times by the voters in various referendum.” Add to that problems that result when tight municipal budgets mean choosing between needed infrastructure projects and new stadiums. In Minnesota, Zirin notes, “the very week they were gonna break ground on the new stadium, the bridge collapsed in Minneapolis, sending about a dozen people to their deaths.”
Tune in this weekend or watch the full interview online.
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