Yeah - they should be paying their bills. They're not a 'common good' so zero tax dollars should be invested in anything they profit from - like new arenas.
By all means, bring the NHL into SLC. But taxpayers should be demanding that the league and the franchise pay its bills and pay for any new facilities they profit from.
They love seeing their tax dollars go into the pockets of billionaires? Maybe us Calgarians should send our Mayor and council to Utah - they love dumping money into the pockets of Flames owners.
Actually the Edmonton example here does include a ticket tax that is large enough to help recover the investment for taxpayers. That's one thing lacking in the Calgary deal.
This is sad because the evidence (Which an economist tried to tell the City of Calgary) is that investing tax dollars in arenas doesn't work. There's simply no point in even doing it.
True, but AFAICT, there's precious little evidence supporting any giveaways to corporations. Tax money should be used towards public goods and services, all of which should be vastly better funded than they are, because those services, not corporate giveaways, are what establish a baseline quality of life for communities. Unfortunately, it's far too easy for governments to be swayed by the myth of trickle-down economics, especially when the people who benefit most directly from that myth are the ones best equipped to fund those politicians' re-election campaigns.
I agree. Tax dollars should only be spent on goods and services and facilities everybody can access - fire halls, police stations, libraries, schools, hospitals, etc. The billionaires can pay for their own toys. It's too bad our so-called leaders knuckle under to a team's junior varsity threats to leave a market if they don't get their handouts and corporate welfare.
While I don't necessarily disagree with the underlying point (municipalities or their residents shouldn't have to pay additional taxes to have a shiny new building), the fact is these decisions are in the hands of the electorate, whether it be a vote on an additional tax to pay for a building, or a local councilperson who votes in favor of such.
No way. Only people who can afford to enter - which is a few. People forget that in a market like Calgary there are only something like 10% of the people who really give a rip and the rest have to pay for those other people's hobby through our tax dollars.
I view relocating the Coyotes as exactly that, servicing the existing franchises. If you can make a sale of the Coyotes *look* like an 800m-1b transaction by any means, it makes expanding by two teams for $1b each look a lot more reasonable. My main point is that finding a buyer for the Coyotes at a discount will be way easier than finding an Alex Smith.
If you can convince them, then you already did. Ryan Smith is right now, and is the only one with plans in motion for securing and owning a new building. Everyone else has been invited to make themselves known and don’t seem to be doing it.
