THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 24, 1997 TAG: 9701240005
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: 33 lines
We have read widely on the subject of modern sports-franchise economics. The following elements are persistently common to all accounts:
1. There is little or no net economic benefit accruing from a city's successful courtship of a major-league enterprise, including the construction of arenas and related infrastructure.
2. Large quantities of wealth are removed from the major-league franchise's metropolitan area in the form of league fees, bond interest to Wall Street markets, absentee owners' profits and salaries to millionaire players.
3. Local elected officials are primarily motivated to boost these deals by their own egos and the need they claim they perceive in their low-self-esteem communities for ``we are somebody now'' status.
4. Major-league sports abuse and threaten their host cities with abandonment unless these cities continuously replenish and enlarge their public subsidies to the sports franchises in the form of newer, bigger, more luxurious stadia and other incentives.
Hampton Roads citizens should think long and hard about the sad, sad state of affairs in the cities of Houston, St. Louis, Los Angeles, Cleveland, Anaheim, Seattle, Hartford and now even Charlotte, which Mr. Shinn is already pressuring to replace their new Hornets' sports palace with an even bigger, newer one. If we heed these warning signs, we won't touch this big-league menace with a thousand-mile pole.
DAVE and KATHY GOODRIDGE
Chesapeake, Jan. 19, 1997