Honorable Judge Robert
Leonard II,
We concerned citizens
of Cobb County encourage you to disavow a bond which commits Cobb Taxpayers to
funding large portions of the Braves Stadium, committing our future tax dollars
to a multi-billion dollar private enterprise for thirty years. We have much
more urgent needs in our county for those dollars. Please forgive any lack of
legal knowledge on our part. We are not attorneys. We are hard-working citizens
and taxpayers who are watching a small group of individuals make decisions
using our money without our input. The argument could be made that this is
taxation without representation, something for which the Founders of our
great nation fought a battle for freedom against an all-powerful tyrannical
nation in 1776. This Fourth of July, it is very appropriate that we remind all
involved in this Braves deal of this premise.
It is a well-known
fact that the Braves owners have enough cash in the bank to easily pay the
entire costs without our commitment. We are not expressing an opinion on
whether it is a good decision or a bad decision for the Braves to move to Cobb
County. That is for the free market to decide. We submit the following examples
of real cases across the country of similar stadium investments which are
abject failures. Rather than improving the communities these stadiums touch, in
many cases, they actually worsen those communities.
This quote is provided
as food for thought before we cover the facts and details.
“Those who cannot remember the past are
condemned to repeat it.”
Controversy over
public funding for private stadiums has continued for decades. According to the
2007 USA Today article, “Altogether, the public has spent $27 billion on
building, land and infrastructure for 167 major league sports facilities
between 1950-2006. There is absolutely no evidence that $18.5 billion in public
benefits have been generated since 1990 to compensate.” (This is a
figure from Harvard University Professor Judith Grant Long. All citations are
included this document.) The article went on to say that Congress should
consider banning tax-exempt financing for stadiums. “Approximately $10
billion of tax exempt bonds have been issued to fund major
league sports facilities for the 82 new facilities opened from 1990 to 2006,”
Long said. The late Patrick Moynihan, D-N.Y., introduced legislation to
ban tax-exempt bond financing altogether in 1996.
The Marlins’ Stadium:
According to the New
York Times:
“Voters are still
angry that lawmakers agreed to use taxes to pay for three-quarters of the
Marlins’ stadium, and that the Marlins and their owner, Jeffrey Loria, repaid
the favor by trading away many of their best players within a year
of moving into their new home. The deal became so toxic that it prompted
the scrutiny of federal regulators and was one reason the previous mayor
lost his job. “ The article goes on to say, “The Marlins’ deal, in
fact, has turned Miami into a case study on sports financing and ground zero
for an ad hoc insurrection against publicly financed stadiums. The blowback may
doom the Dolphins’ bid to host Super Bowl L or LI, too.” The article states
further, in response to a request to build a new Dolphins stadium with taxpayer
funding, “Other critics are more strident. Norman Braman, a former owner of the
Philadelphia Eagles who lives in Florida and opposed the public financing of
the Marlins’ stadium, said that Ross should pay for the renovations
because he was the one who would benefit the most from them.”
The Miami Dolphins’
Stadium:
The New York Times
article presents facts about Miami which are almost identical to our current
Cobb Braves deal. “State lawmakers are now considering whether to exempt the
Dolphins from $90 million in state income tax over 30 years and permit
Miami-Dade County to raise its hotel bed tax by 1 percentage point to cover the
balance of the public share of the stadium deal. 73 percent opposed
increasing the bed tax and giving the Dolphins sales tax rebates. One of
the reasons people were so against it is because of the bad taste of the
Marlins’ deal. Taxes should not be used to help private enterprises when
governments are having a hard time paying for hospitals, schools and law
enforcement.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/25/sports/football/miami-dolphins-stadium-refurbishment-plan-is-threatened.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Cincinnati and Stadium Debt:
Cincinnati and Stadium Debt:
According to this
Bloomberg article, “When voters approved a sales-tax increase to pay $540 million toward stadiums for Cincinnati’s
professional baseball and football teams almost two decades ago, city leaders
promised lower property levies and a business district along the Ohio River.”
Instead, the county
government is grappling with annual stadium expenses totaling at least $43
million this year, including debt service,
“It’s an albatross
that hangs around our necks,” said Portune, who has dealt with the cost for
almost 13 years in office. “Every year it forces us to either come up with more
revenue or take away from spending for other things the county needs.”
- “Last year, Moody’s assigned a negative outlook to the county’s general obligations, citing “the lack of a long-term strategic plan for the growing obligations of the stadium” sales-tax fund. Such a move signals a possible rating cut, which could raise the county’s borrowing cost. “http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-18/cincinnati-stadiums-bury-county-government-in-debt.htmlDo we want this future for Cobb County? This Cincinnati stadium information is from an article in the “Business Insider.”
- Hamilton County faces a $30 million budget shortfall and has had to cancel a planned property tax rollback in order to service their debt.
- Economists have been arguing for years that public financing of sports facilities is one of the worst investments that a government can make. Stadiums always cost more than expected to build and maintain, the teams share little of the profits, and estimates of the financial boost to the economy are grossly overestimated.The above are but a few examples of the many stadium deals financed with taxpayer money that have gone terribly wrong for those communities.Here are a few more. Please consider that there are always tradeoffs. When we commit $400 million (or more) of our tax money to the Braves, what more important needs do we sacrifice? Take a look at Minnesota.
- “The Minnesota Twins got public funding approved for a new stadium just the year before the I-35W bridge collapsed,” said Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, and a Democratic presidential candidate.
- Cleveland (15 year “sin” tax extended and the team ranks at the bottom in major league baseball attendance)
- Montreal (still paying 1976 Olympics debt 3 decades later)
- Houston Astrodome (millions in debt after being empty a decade)In closing, we ask you to consider these questions.Did the Braves honor the commitment in Milwaukee?
Did the Braves honor their commitment to Gwinnett?
Did the Braves honor their commitment in Turner Field in Atlanta?
Why should they honor their commitment to Cobb County?
- “When cities, counties, or states agree to help pay for a new stadium, whether via direct financing, tax breaks, or taxes to directly pay for them, all government groups are actively deciding to use their scarce resources to further millionaires at the expense of the young, old, sick, and the poor. When new sport stadiums are financed with public money, research has shown that the population is actually worse off economically than before the stadium.”We citizens have seen no concrete penalties and assurances built into the current contract details that we have reviewed. Is that any way to treat the citizens of Cobb County? Please just say no to this bond. It is the honorable thing to do. We can learn from the mistakes made by communities all across this great nation. Let the billionaires fund their own businesses. This great country is built on such free market principles.Sincerely,
Citizens of Cobb County, GeorgiaMore information is available in the following books:
- Public Dollars, Private Stadiums: The Battle Over Building Sports Stadiums (Delaney)
- Major League Losers: The Real Cost of Sports and Who’s Paying For It (Rosentraub)
- Field of Schemes: How the Great Stadium Swindle Turns Public Money into Private Profit (DeMause)CommentsThis is more “trickle up” redistribution of wealth. Westside commuters will get terminal Friday night gridlock and Cobb taxpayers will get the bill. Go Braves….and take them Falcons with ya.Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
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