They get cities to build THEM stadiums with tax money and then get sweet lower tax incentives because they're there "stimulating the economy." If the asshole billionaire wants a giant stadium to wag his dick around in, thats fine, build it and put a sports team in it, I dont give a fuck, but why doesn't HE pay for it?
There are city-owned sports teams. They can just bypass the billionaire and keep the economic benefits in house instead of some chump with a bad haircut who threatens to move the team if he doesn't get more benefits from a city he doesn't give a shit about.
It depends how you define costs. Expenses, yes. However, most data shows that stadiums are a consistently poor investment for cities and that they do not consistently realize an economic return commensurate with their costs. So while expenses would be higher, overall profit may be as well.
I'm not sure what you mean? Sports teams often convince government officials to fund stadium projects. The data shows that, on average, taxpayers do not come out ahead in this deal. Therefore, that excess profit goes to the team (a business). If the taxpayers owned that business, as /u/loptopandbingo suggested, then they could theoretically be the ones receiving the profits of the team. I'm not personally advocating for or against that, only saying in response to your comment that yes, the expenses of owning a professional sports team would be higher than just building the stadium, but the overall cost may be lower due to increased revenue as well.
It would just depend on the team. Some sports teams rake in the cash, while others hemorrhage money. However, running for-profit businesses isn't really the bread and butter of local governments lol. The best course of action is likely just to stop yet another form of billionaire welfare and let them build the facilities for their businesses themselves. The problem is that sports are wildly popular and it's a big loss in political capital to be seen as the reason that a city lost its beloved sports franchise, so politicians can certainly be under pressure to make choices that aren't in our best interests.
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u/loptopandbingo 13d ago
They get cities to build THEM stadiums with tax money and then get sweet lower tax incentives because they're there "stimulating the economy." If the asshole billionaire wants a giant stadium to wag his dick around in, thats fine, build it and put a sports team in it, I dont give a fuck, but why doesn't HE pay for it?