There’s nothing a big corporation loves more than a nice big government handout. After all, competing in the free market can be hard work. It is a lot easier to convince a few politicians to dole out taxpayer money than it is to earn profits the old fashioned way. Nowhere is this more true than in professional sports. Leagues promise a town huge increases in revenue in exchange for handouts, but the numbers don’t often add up in favor of the taxpayer.
Most stadiums you see today are built for sports leagues at taxpayer expense. Some impoverished cities such as St. Louis are burdened with the debt long after a football team abandons the town for another stadium somewhere else. Despite what they may say, they don’t care about the little guy’s bottom line, only their own. Billionaire team owners milk taxpayers to fund stadiums and arenas for the owners’ enrichment.
Over-hyped sports events, such as the All-Star game or Super Bowl, can actually cause a net loss to the local region when you factor in security costs. In some cases, revenue to small businesses actually declines. It is common for local businesses to complain about how little benefit they actually receive from high-profile games like the Super Bowl.
Liberals absurdly claim that the pullout of the All-Star game cost Georgia’s Cobb County $100 million, although only 8,000 hotel room nights were booked for the event. Visitors would have to spend in excess of $10,000 apiece to reach that estimated loss, when the average sports fan probably spends far less.
Don’t forget that most of the revenue goes to hotel chains like Marriott that have already pushed the liberal agenda by announcing that they will not donate to Republicans who voted against fraud in the last election. Local spending on professional sports events rarely reaches the pockets of the little guy.
It is time for taxpayers to see through the shiny promises touted by major sports teams. Despite what they may tell you, there is something more American than baseball. It’s called capitalism. That’s how sports teams should get their profits rather than relying on government handouts.
