It’s time for citizens to stand up and demand more from civic officials.
Consider this assertion. “If every sports team in Chicago were to disappear suddenly, the impact on the Chicago economy would be a fraction of 1 percent. A baseball team has about the same impact on a community as a midsize department store.” The author is Michael Leeds, a sports economist at Temple University in Philadelphia.
David Tepper (photo, Riot Report)
The elected leaders of Charlotte, NC, should have listened to Dr. Leeds but, instead, they were overcome by David Tepper, the owner of the Charlotte Panthers, who has a net worth of $12 billion. He convinced Mayor Lyles and the City Council to spend tax dollars to help him secure the 30th Major League Soccer team franchise.
Mayor Lyles and the Charlotte City Council agreed to help Tepper by promising to give $110 million for a soccer team. Know, also, that Tepper is being given tax dollars to help build a Panthers’ practice facility in nearby Rock Hill, SC.
Senator Lindsay Graham has promised about $20 million in federal funds to build entrance and exit ramps (off I-77) to the new complex.
Tepper is quoted in The Charlotte Observer as saying, “It’s going to be a new Charlotte. We’re a hot city.” Scott Fowler, Observer sportswriter, quotes Tepper as describing future soccer games at Bank of America Stadium as “This is a little bit of a party for two hours. Charlotte loves a party. And we’re going to bring them [sic] a party.”
But here’s another interpretation. Once again, a city is being sucked into believing that a sports team will have significant economic benefits. To boot, why do wealthy men need tax dollars to make it possible?
Besides, like other American cities, Charlotte faces big problems–a high murder rate, a lack of affordable housing, poor mass transportation, issues surrounding educational equality, and much more. It bewilders me why civic leaders look right past those PUBLIC ISSUES to fork over public funds to enable a PRIVATE VENTURE.
While X-thousand fans no doubt enjoy being at a game, that’s a small percentage of a city’s population. And many of those who suffer because of a city’s problems don’t have the resources to attend games. Yes, some do work low-scale stadium jobs so that the enfranchised are entertained. But isn’t there something really wrong with that picture?
Source: Medium
Yes, we see photos and videos of a pro athlete taking a needy child on a Christmas shopping spree, but we also know that the child’s parents are busy making ends meet. Meanwhile, despite all the bluster about this new sports team, the Observer reported that “more than 60 fans attended the announcement.”
Building things is popular, and it’s easy to support. Too easy, things like stadiums and high-rise developments. But what we shortchange is sustaining a system that offers a sound education to all citizens, a safe environment in which to live and work, and many more of the attributes that make a city ‘good.’
Sadly, Mayor Lyles and the City Council are more interested in ‘things’ than the city’s disenfranchised citizens.
