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.
This is an excellent final position paper if this think interests you.
Jenna Smith TR 8-920
ReplyDeletePerhaps I am bias since I am a NY Jets fan and I have enjoyed several games at the Meadowlands, so I personally I think it was a great move—for New Jersey on the hand perhaps not since the Jets and Giants have built their own stadium, and they only get a lease fee of “6.3 million dollars” when they use to receive “20 million”. This hurts New Jersey taxpayers for the reason the Sports and Exposition Authority does not have the funds to cover the debt and is need of additional “additional state subsidies”. Meaning that in order to pay their debt they are asking the taxpayers to pay the remaining amount. Since the old stadium is a parking lot so it cannot make any revenue to pay the rest of the debt off by itself. Therefore, I believe the construction of these stadiums worth millions that are not in use anymore hurts society. For the reason if that structure is not making any money who is going to pay for the debt? That’s right the people, is it fair?—definitely not, especially if you do not care for sports.
Colin Lindsley
ReplyDeleteM,W,F 2-250
This is an example of American citizens paying taxes for an item that is not attractive to every citizen, but in the end, helps the region they live in. With the funding of these large stadiums coming from locals, it keeps these organizations located where their fan base is and also offers many jobs for local residents. Although everyone may not enjoy the sport which these stadiums represent, they offer a large attraction to tourists/suburbanites and undoubtedly upgrades local economies.
Incorporated with the previous article describing baseball's revenue sharing, the owner's hold the greatest power in these decisions, as they can pack the team up and leave town if they deem fit, while also taking the profit of other organizations as their own. Baseball fits the mold of modern American economics better than any other professional sport, with the rich often giving (paying higher taxes) to the poor. Often, in this case though, these team's use that free wealth to remain an organization with poor ability teams but wealthy ownership.
Ashley Gennett T-Th 8-9:20
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree with many points in this article, I also have to disagree. To go a long with what Jenn Smith said, I think sometimes this can be a GREAT move. Look at the Phillies. I have had season tickets since the age of 2, and that dates back to the Vet. That stadium was disgusting, and the building of Citizens Bank Park did WONDERS for the phillies. More sold out games, a better field which led to more wins and a Championship. I don't think that it's all a coincidence. More tickets sold creates more revenue for a team which can bring in bigger and better players, and in my opinion that all started with the new stadium.
With that being said, the debt is killing the tax payers. Some may not even realize they are paying for the stadiums they are enjoying games in. While the tax payers are paying more and more to create these stadiums, athletes are becoming more and more greedy; continuously asking for more money. To me, it's all a cycle. New stadiums are built because fans want them, debt is created which leads to tax payers money, but tax payers are also paying for more tickets to go to the new stadium, and some of the revenue is going into the athletes pocket.
This is a waste of money for people like me. I don’t care about football neither do I care for any sport, but what I do care about is my money. I would not be a happy person if my money is waste on something unnecessary. It is not matter of $13 to pay, but it’s the matter of wasting land and the profit from that land. Sport Authority of New Jersey should ensure that causes of building the new stadium and the debt of the old one. New Jersey taxes are already pretty high and so many people live in Pennsylvania and try to commute to New Jersey in-order to pay less taxes and housing prices. Therefore, this is an example of poor decisions made by the authority and an extra tax for residents of New Jersey to pay; I think everybody should protest against this tax.
ReplyDeleteMuktak Tripathi
MWF, 2:00 P.M
Kimberly Boyd MWF, 2:00
ReplyDeleteWhile I believe that new sport complexes as well as other recreational facilities are must in cities, since they draw so much tourism. However, I think that the building of a new stadium, when it is not actually necessary is something that could potentially hurt the city more, like this article suggests. Putting a city in higher debt, for a reason that isn't valid enough for every tax payer in that city, is not a benefit. I think that cities that prosper from sports seem to make the citizens believe that it will bring in more and more tourism, and therefore not be costly for the city. This is not true. The sports complexes are built and attract people in the beginning, but once the fascination of a new surrounding is over with, it actually brings the city in more debt. Therefore, I don't believe that sport complexes should be built for no reason, and to be built just because they can. Because in reality, they can't, and are just wasting money for the citizens and the tax payers.