Costly Holes in the Ground

I am a life-long fan of the New York Giants football team (no, I was not raised in NY, but in DC; was a contrarian even back then).  So, it hurts to dump on anything associated with the Giants, but that’s life:

It’s the gift that keeps on taking. The old Giants Stadium, demolished to make way for New Meadowlands Stadium, still carries about $110 million in debt, or nearly $13 for every New Jersey resident, even though it is now a parking lot.

The financial hole was dug over decades by politicians who passed along the cost of building and fixing the stadium, and it is getting deeper. With the razing of the old stadium and the Giantsand the Jets moving into their splashy new home next door, a big source of revenue to pay down the debt has shriveled.

New Jerseyans are hardly alone in paying for stadiums that no longer exist. Residents of Seattle’s King County owe more than $80 million for the Kingdome, which was razed in 2000. The story has been similar in Indianapolis and Philadelphia. In Houston, Kansas City, Mo., Memphis and Pittsburgh, residents are paying for stadiums and arenas that were abandoned by the teams they were built for.

Government funding for stadiums is a boondoggle, pure and simple. The alleged economic benefits are always less than forecast and below the stadium’s cost. The funding just insures that local politicians get invited to watch games in the team skybox.

Categories: My Blog

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