Quote:
Originally Posted by jaxg8r1
Yes, I understand that. But those lodging taxes could go to a bunch of different things that aren't subsidizing millionaires private business.
And although I have no data to back this, i HIGHLY doubt the Hops are drawing people to fill those hotels.
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Exactly. The city is using cash reserves now, hoping that their reserves will be replenished by funds that will only be provided by people actually staying in hotels to come see games at the stadium, which is always a risk for a smaller team like the Hops. This isn't some major team where it's a surefire investment; they're taking a risk with public funds. It's not quite the same as tax increment financing, but...in practice, it's just as much of a risk. The city's not providing an abatement, but they're still giving public money to the business, without any real guarantee that it'll pay off.
Cities around the country need to stop paying sports teams' venues. This isn't some kind of industrial enterprise that's going to be providing a good/service whether or not there's a market for their product, the market for the product isn't going to produce itself without a lot of marketing. If people don't care to travel to see Hops games--and let's be real, fans of this team are almost certainly going to be local enough that they won't need a hotel stay to come see a game--then the city's just going to be out the money, with nothing but a fancy stadium to show for it. It's the same racket as major league stadiums, just at a smaller scale.
There's either demand enough that these teams can fund their extravagant venues, or there isn't. No need to toss public money into the calculation.