While Buffalo's soccer fans might be passionate for the sport and excited about the potential for a new professional team in the city, they should be careful not to let that passion be used by business and political leaders to justify public subsidies for a stadium that would be a bad deal for the community. … Continue reading Buffalo News column: Keep emotions out of Buffalo’s soccer stadium debates
Column in The Hill – States: Stop subsidizing these 3 dumb things
There are a lot of things states do in the name of "economic development that don't make much sense. But out of all the bad deals out there, there's three popular kinds of subsidized project that are especially bad for the communities that make them: Stadiums, data centers and distribution centers. In The Hill, CEA … Continue reading Column in The Hill – States: Stop subsidizing these 3 dumb things
No, Cleveland, that stadium isn’t worth it
Recently, the Cleveland Plain Dealer asked, "Is public financing of sports venues worth it?" In a letter to the editor, the CEA's John Mozena explained why the answer to that question is a resounding "no." The reality is that, however much we may care about sports, their economic impact on a community like Cleveland is … Continue reading No, Cleveland, that stadium isn’t worth it
St. Louis Post-Dispatch column: Emotion defeats common sense in St. Louis’s MLS stadium deal
Politicians love it when they can benefit from the emotional connection Americans have with our sports teams. Unfortunately, one of the ways they do that is by handing out subsidies and incentives to pro sports team stadiums, despite all the evidence that they're usually a terrible deal for the community. As the CEA's John Mozena … Continue reading St. Louis Post-Dispatch column: Emotion defeats common sense in St. Louis’s MLS stadium deal
Indianapolis Star op-ed: Proposed soccer stadium deal unfriendly to taxpayers
Indianapolis is proposing what its mayor calls a "taxpayer friendly" deal to help fund a stadium for a soccer team. But as CEA President John C. Mozena explains in an op-ed in the Indianapolis Star, "Even if no new taxes are immediately proposed to fund the deal, these kinds of deals impose very real costs … Continue reading Indianapolis Star op-ed: Proposed soccer stadium deal unfriendly to taxpayers