Wisconsin Giving $250M To Billionaire-Owned Basketball Arena Days After Cutting $250M In Education

[IcyPeas]

18. ...politicians continue to cave into their threats to move their teams ...

http://crooksandliars.com/2015/07/john-oliver-explains-why-taxpayers-should

... even though our politicians continue to cave into their threats to move their teams every time one of them wants a new stadium built.
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In the last two decades, he said, 90 percent of U.S. sports stadiums have been rebuilt — on the dime of local taxpayers. Some $12 billion was spent on 51 new luxury facilities between 2000 and 2010 alone, according to Oliver.
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According to Oliver, teams not only receive taxpayer-funded facilities, but they also often get to keep the income from stadium naming rights, concessions, luxury boxes, and non-sports events held on the property. The Florida Marlins’ owner framed it candidly: “That’s the whole object of this, is to get more revenue.”
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And the exorbitant spending didn’t stop there. As GOP candidates raise concerns over tax funding for programs such as Obamacare provisions and SNAP food programs, millions of dollars are still pouring into athletic construction projects. Just last month, presidential hopeful Walker announced plans for a new $500 million stadium for the Bucks. These renovations follow in the footsteps of the 2013 construction of Miami’s Marlins Park, which also received the same nine-figure approval in county funding — leaving only 20 percent of the budget to be organized through other means.
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But for now, tax dollars continue to filter out of government budgets and into the hands of lucrative sports franchises.