Thursday, February 1, 2018

Are Pro Sports Teams a Public Good?

ROCHESTER'S FRONTIER FIELD,

One of America’s founders, our second president John Adams, used the Latin phrase Res Publica (literally Public Thing) to describe the need for government to support the common good in order to ensure Americans would live in strong communities.

Yet, it’s hard to imagine that even someone as visionary as Adams could have anticipated the importance of professional sports to 21st Century American society much less think of pro sports as Res Publica. But, that’s where we are.  Medium sized cities like Charlotte and Jacksonville have elevated their status by attracting NFL franchises.  Those cities have committed time, energy and capital to the effort to attract their teams and would work just as hard to keep them if the billionaires who own those franchises threaten to leave. 

I recall attending a Chamber of Commerce meeting in Miami where the management of the Florida Marlins made their case for public financing of a new stadium.  It was the midst of the Great Recession and many in attendance were struggling to keep their doors open.  Concurrently, the federal government was considering a bailout of the nation’s largest banks.  During the Q&A, one business owner expressed the view that a professional baseball team shouldn’t need a bailout from Miami’s taxpayers.  His comment opened a floodgate.  The Marlins executives never knew what hit them.

Nevertheless, the city and state government supported the team’s owners and they got their stadium supported in part by public financing.  Now, they play their home games at a beautiful stadium and have the third lowest attendance in Major League Baseball. 

Hardly seems worth it. 

Lop a few zeroes off Miami’s scenario of a few years ago and you can imagine the pressure felt by New York’s Monroe County Executive Cheryl Dinolfo.  The county’s largest city, Rochester, has earned a reputation for embracing minor league sports.  In addition to the baseball’s Red Wings, we have hockey’s minor league Americans as well as professional soccer and lacrosse teams.  Collectively, their presence creates a public good.

That public good is in jeopardy.  Our soccer team is sitting this season out; and, its owners are at war with the city that is its landlord.  Ditto our baseball team whose franchisor this week threatened the “nuclear option” of cancelling the franchise, effectively putting the team out of business, if reasonable lease terms were not agreed to by the county.

The question for our political leaders, and by extension voters, is whether to finance the teams’ deficits and bear the brunt of public ownership of their stadiums. 

It’s tempting to blame the politicians.  (No one likes politicians anyway.)  However, I am more inclined to point my finger at the teams’ owners.  The teams are capitalist enterprises whose profits, should they be earned, go into the pockets of their investors.  And, like any capitalist enterprise, they should bear the risk of any losses.

Ms. Dinolfo ran for office on a promise not to raise taxes and has a budget, 85% of which is the result of unfunded mandates from the state.  I admire her efforts to hold the line on behalf of taxpayers. 

I’m getting worn out paying New York’s taxes anyway.


WHO WILL LEAD?

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