We Built This Stadium With The Government’s Bank Roll

            There are two main takeaways that emerged after the 2012 Republican National Convention ended last night. The first is that reporters and commentators seemed to be really surprised that Tampa Bay is really hot and humid in late August. The second is that Republicans are not going to let President Obama escape from a comment, which he is unlikely to have actually said, stating that business owners could not have built their companies without the help of the government. Virtually every speaker at the Republican Convention used some form of the line of “we built it” or  “you built it” to highlight partys support for the notion that entrepreneurs created their own businesses.

            One can question the extent of the government’s role has in helping new business become successful. Yet, there is no question that the Republican National Convention took place in a building that only exists because of public financing. The Tampa Bay Times Forum is owned by Hillsborough County, which then leases the building back to the Tampa Bay Sports Authority (a public entity). In addition, The St. Petersburg Times reported in 1998 that, “Financing for the arena was completed in August with the closing in New York on seven bond issues. Sales taxes, tourist development taxes, and ticket surcharges will be used to repay the bonds. Permanent financing includes $84 million in bonds backed by the city of Tampa and Hillsborough County.” 

            This post is not necessarily to criticize the communication strategy of the Republican Party that centered around championing the independence of the private sector in a building primarily paid for by public financing. It is more to highlight that the stance of many Republicans is similar to the position of many sports decision makers. Sports organizations want the government to subsidize the building or renovation of new stadiums. Yet, these teams and leagues only want to receive these subsidies on their terms and claim they are the taking on much of the risk. For example, the Minnesota Vikings originally wanted to build a new stadium in Arden Hills, MN. Owner Ziggy Wolf stated the Vikings were going to “We are putting significant private investments at risk.” For Wilf, that meant Vikings would put up 39 percent of the $1.04 billion stadium with the public financing accounting for the rest of the cost. Would the government receive any of the revenue that came from ticket, suite, concession, or merchandise sales for the stadium? No. Instead, the government would receive money, “derived from pro-sports memorabilia tax, sports-themes lottery games, other sources.” This plan received so much criticism that Vikings ended up abandoning the Arden Hills location for a new stadium in Minneapolis near their current venue that was largely subsidized by public funds. 

            The Cowboys Stadium is often called “The House That Jerry Built” or “Jerryworld” referring to owner Jerry Jones ability to open a venue that costs $1.2 billion. Yet, the city of Arlington has contributed over $482 million to the construction and retiring of debt for Cowboys Stadium. Perhaps a better nickname for the Stadium is “Jerryworld Made Possible by the City of Arlington”.  Yet, Jones does not believe that the NFL should be subsidizing teams in other markets. When discussing the Minnesota stadium debate in 2011, Jones said, “"Right now we are subsidizing this market…That will stop. That's going to stop. That's called revenue sharing. That's on its way out." Apparently, it was OK for the government to provide money for the building Cowboys Stadium but not OK for the NFL to help the Vikings with any subsidies for their stadium. 

Again, we are not criticizing sports organizations for trying to obtain public subsidies for their venues. In an environment where state, county, and municipal governments are making drastic budget cuts, sports managers and decision makers should question their public posture when it comes to public financing and subsidies. While the government may not have built the sports industry, it has played a large role in building its infrastructure both in a literal and metaphorical sense. Sports organizations can help ensure they are doing everything possible to obtain and retain financing from public sources by not going out of their way to criticizing the government or public officials.