The sports-industrial complex is bleeding America dry

13 posts / 0 new

Thu, 2013-04-11 16:37

Snuckles

[url=http://www.salon.com/2013/02/08/the_sports_industrial_complex_is_bleedin... perhaps Canada too? I'm looking at you Markham and Quebec City.[/url]

Thu, 2013-04-11 23:16

autoworker autoworker's picture

Then, there are the.best, and priciest, season tickets and corporate boxes that are expensed, and tax deductible.

Sat, 2013-04-13 02:17

RevolutionPlease RevolutionPlease's picture

I hope Jose Reyes is okay.

Fri, 2013-10-04 10:33

Snuckles

[url=http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/10/how-the-nfl-fleeces-... the NFL Fleeces Taxpayers[/url]

Quote:
Taxpayers fund the stadiums, antitrust law doesn't apply to broadcast deals, the league enjoys nonprofit status, and Commissioner Roger Goodell makes $30 million a year. It's time to stop the public giveaways to America's richest sports league—and to the feudal lords who own its teams.

Fri, 2013-10-04 12:27

DaveW

it's very simple, don't fund pro teams through municipal/provincial sports budgets ;

I am a huge Expos fan, fervent as ever a decade later , and a bid to return baseball to Montreal is coming in 2014, likely;

but: no public money, any new stade has to be privately built, as were the Bell Centre and the Saputo MLS soccer stadium and all parties accept that. Away we go.

* the asterisk to this is the federal assistance given to expand McGill stadium for use by CFL Alouettes, but sums ($20-25 million, I think) were comparatively tiny and the improvements made a good little stadium more multi-use for college teams, too

Fri, 2013-10-04 12:29

Francesca Allan

Reminds me: tuition for my two university courses includes something like $50 a term for the "university sports society." Now being forced into extraneous medical and dental care is one thing because I can potentially (although not likely) benefit. Paying for a bunch of yahoos to run around a field burns.

Fri, 2013-10-04 12:45

DaveW

well, that is an entirely different story

and, yes, there is a huge list of add-ons to the bill at universities for everything from solidarity funds to the school newspaper to benefits for library and sports this and that, but either they are all compulsory deductions or it becomes a buffet and no one gets funding ...

but I would not denigrate athletics any more than I would academics at college ... it is good for people and their development

Fri, 2013-10-04 13:17

Francesca Allan

DaveW wrote:
... but either they are all compulsory deductions or it becomes a buffet and no one gets funding ...

Nah. I would happily donate to our excellent library, among other services.

Quote:
but I would not denigrate athletics any more than I would academics at college ... it is good for people and their development

Yeah, sorry about that, my comment was uncalled for.

Fri, 2013-10-04 13:28

jas

DaveW wrote:

but I would not denigrate athletics any more than I would academics at college ... it is good for people and their development

Depends on what the society funds. If it's events and equipment that everyone has access to, then great. That's something I would want to investigate.

Fri, 2014-01-31 14:06

#10

Snuckles

[url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/01/30/the-nfl-s-super-bowl-co... NFL’s Super Bowl Con: Hosting the Big Game Isn’t an Economic Score For Cities[/url]

Fri, 2014-01-31 14:08

#11

Snuckles

[url=http://www.salon.com/2014/01/31/down_with_host_cities/]Down with “host cities”!: My plan to build a giant sports arena somewhere in the desert[/url]