On 7/27/2015 7:45 PM, Keyser Söze wrote:
On 7/27/15 7:40 PM, Keyser Söze wrote:
On 7/27/15 7:28 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 7/27/2015 6:38 PM, Keyser Söze wrote:
On 7/27/15 6:22 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 7/27/2015 5:44 PM, Keyser Söze wrote:
On 7/27/15 5:42 PM, True North wrote:
Keyser Söze

"BOSTON -- After a tortuous seven-month public process, the United
States
Olympic Committee on Monday acknowledged that it had failed to win
over
the people of Boston to host the 2024 Summer Games and it officially
pulled the plug on its bid to put forth Boston as America's host
city."


Now Toronto is starting to make noises about competing to host the
2024 Olympics while patting themselves on the back for the just
completed Panamericana games.
Way back a very vocal minority tried to get the PanAm games for
Halifax.
The Feds only offered 700 million in assistance and the cost
estimate
was rising to 2 billion. Thank God saner heads prevailed.


I hope they pass. The games are money-losers. Cities, of course,
don't
seem to mind being raped by the owners of professional sports teams
into
building stadiums, which are also money-losers for the cities. Let
the
billionaire owners of major sports teams pay for the building of
their
own damned stadiums.


Good grief, it must be tough for you to live in the USA. I can't
recall
anything of our culture, our economics, welfare system or our
government
that you like or approve of.

Most of the losses associated with hosting Olympic games is the
infrastructure, stadiums, etc., that are built and used once.
Maybe the summer Olympics should be permanently located in Athens,
Greece, home of the original, ancient games. The Greek economy could
use the boost and the stadiums can be re-used.


Why should cities or states pay for sports infrastructure that is built
and used once, and Olympic games that end up costing the cities more
than they make? And why should cities and states subsidize sports teams
owned by billionaires, especially when our infrastructure is crumbling,
benefits for the poor are being cut, school programs are being shut
down, clinics are being closed, et cetera?


Because the world doesn't revolve around Harry Krause, his interests and
his cynical views of our society.

I agree about the Olympic game venues. Waste of money for a one-time
event. However sports stadiums bring more to the local economy than just
the price of a football or baseball game ticket. If you don't believe
that, consider the times major league teams even think of
moving to a location or state out of the local area. Everything
possible is done to keep them where they are.

A few years back the New England Patriots started making noises about
moving to Connecticut or somewhere due to the archaic and obsolete
stadium in Foxboro. Some of the die hard Patriots fans were beside
themselves with grief.

But, a deal was reached and "Patriot Place" came to be. Don't know if
you have ever been there but it really is fabulous. In addition to the
football stadium (which also hosts pro soccer games, musical concerts
and other events), there are also 1.3 million square feet of adjoining
shops, restaurants, bars and other entertainment venues for the public
to enjoy. The complex employs thousands of locals, a positive influence
on the local economy.

Here's a link to more info about Patriot Place if you are interested:

http://www.boston-discovery-guide.com/patriot-place.html


What is the *plus* contribution to the local economy? Not what the
boosters claim, but the actual $$$ contribution over the cost of
building it, bonding it, operating it, paying off the team owners?


Pro sports stadiums don't bolster local economies, scholars say


CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — If you build it, they will come … with wallets
bulging, eager to exchange greenbacks for peanuts, popcorn, hot dogs and
beer, and T-shirts and ball caps with team logos.

At least that’s the theory embraced – time and time again – by mayors
and city council members hoping to lure professional sports teams to
their cities by promising to build new arenas for the teams. But one guy
who’s not buying it is sports economist Brad Humphreys, a professor of
recreation, sport and tourism at the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign.

That’s because Humphreys and colleague Dennis Coates, a professor of
economics at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, haven’t
uncovered a single instance in which the presence of a professional
sports team has been linked to a boost in the local economy.

http://tinyurl.com/3o8cofw


Operative phrase in the above was "one guy".

Ask the local governments, tax payers and sports fans if they support
moving or closing a stadium in their area. Those are the ones that
count, not some professor who has embraced academia as a way of making a
living and has to publish something once in a while.