Update: The Oklahoman is reporting the voters of Oklahoma City are passing their arena tax by 60 percent with 201 of 271 precincts in.
More later...
Every local political junkie will be paying attention tonight to the numbers coming from Ohio, Texas, Vermont and Rhode Island. (There'll be coverage here no doubt.)
Just as interesting will be the vote coming out of Oklahoma City whether or not residents there will choose to collect taxes to refurbish Ford Arena in order to attract an NBA team - undoubtedly the Super Sonics - to town.
Voters are being asked to continue a one-percent sales tax in order to fund $121 million in improvements to the $92 million Ford Arena as well as providing practice facilities and concessions in order to attract an NBA franchise. The vote is to continue the "MAPS for Kids penny sales tax" which expires at the end of 2008.
The Sonics and Oklahoma favorite Clay Bennett's ownership group is probably the odds on choice for filling a refurbished Ford Arena. Although the New Orleans Hornets, which played in OKC after Hurricane Katrina devastated their home arena have as strong a claim to region, and hearts, of Okie round ball fans.
Bennett has played coy not giving interviews to news organizations regarding the vote or a move. Sonics ownership is in legal maneuvers to break a lease with the City of Seattle at Key Arena.
Readers who possess some math skills will see that the OKC tax money being requested is considerably less than the estimated $400 million in public financing that Bennett's group demanded of Olympia last session. $100 million for the proposed Renton Arena was supposed to come from Sonics ownership but what was never stated is whether funds from the lucrative naming rights of a Renton Arena would be used to defray taxpayer or ownership costs.
Bennett and company have reportedly refused to consider the possibility of a $200 million renovation of Key Arena. Nor has the group responded to a feeler from the Muckleshoot Tribe to build a new arena in Auburn on land adjacent to Emerald Downs (which, for disclosure, was once upon a time leased by this writer's great-uncle who ran a dairy farm on the acreage in the '50s and '60s).
I'll have more thoughts depending on how the vote turns out.
But it sure would make things a whole lot more interesting if they didn't. And it would be great to see that weasel Bennett have to move on to plan C, whatever that is. Plan A being extorting taxpayers in this region, and plan B extorting them in his hometown, albeit to a lesser degree.
Posted by: Palouse on March 4, 2008 02:27 PMDavid Stern has made it known that the billionaire owners will get to continue extorting money from cities, or else. He can't let Seattle get away with not funding his billionaires. That is why the Oklahoma City bond issue is so small.
I hope Seattle holds their own against this extortion, and by doing so, they become the model for all sports cities across the country.
Posted by: swatter on March 4, 2008 04:02 PMhttp://www.newsok.com/
Posted by: Stuart Jenner on March 4, 2008 06:24 PMOr does asking that question completely blow a tired cliche out of the water?
Posted by: Don Ward on March 4, 2008 08:56 PMBefore the era of spiraling salaries, the subsidies were not needed. The salaries are really the raison d'etre of the subsidies. (the 'model' as it's called).
The cliche is back in the water.
Posted by: russell garrard on March 4, 2008 09:28 PMBut looking at the pro tax web site, one notable omission was Sen Coburn.
Posted by: Stuart Jenner on March 4, 2008 11:02 PMLast year I got some great sightlines sitting in the left field bleachers; throwing down with some of the Detroit fans who were out there during the four game series. Believe the ticket price was under $20. I prefer to buy cheap seats and then wander the stadium for a few innings to take in the game from different vantage points at Safeco.
All in all pretty cheap entertainment for 3 hours spent with some of my best buddies. And a good opportunity to chat up Mariners babes.
Not sure how many games I'll be attending this season but probably a handful. I usually either watch, listen or read about every game on television, the radio and newspapers.
Would it be too much by stating the obvious that Safeco was not built to subsidize multimillionaire athletes but to create a public gathering place for residents across the state so they can come together and have a good time.
You don't have to be a bazillionaire, but you gotta have money if you want to enjoy a day or night out with the family.
I miss the old $3 tickets at the Kingdome for Sonic tickets in the nosebleed section in the early 80s.
I miss the $5 left field baseball tickets in the Kingdome.
Those were the days when the average fan could afford to go to the game.
Posted by: swatter on March 5, 2008 07:34 AMThe Kingdome was a dump and a prime example of why publicly owned, publicly run facilities are bad business models. Then county exec Gary Locke and previous execs gutted the Kingdome's maintenance budget which created a situation where the building began literally falling down. The Kingdome was also a poor architectural mixed use design making it a bad place to watch baseball. The football games were fun but the place was still lousy.
My folks bought those $5 baseball tickets in the 1980s. Factor in inflation and ticket prices at Safeco are comparable.
And swatter you're going back beyond my time a few years if you watched the Supes in the Kingdome.
Working on my next projects guys so won't be able to defend myself on this thread anymore. Don't beat me up to much, okay?
Posted by: Don Ward on March 5, 2008 11:01 AMAs Safeco Field has shown, the impact on local businesses is terrible. Packing the new facilities with restaurants, limiting what can be brought in from the outside, and shutting down traffic during game days has a net negative on local restaurants and other retail businesses. The papers have run several stories over the years about merchants in the Pioneer Square being adversely affected by the new sports arenas.
While there are many people who enjoy going to the ballpark (or basketball arena, or football stadium) for entertainment - I even take my kids to a Mariners game once or twice a season - there really is no justification for tax dollars being used for these facilities. If the owners can't afford to run the business on gate, merchandise and TV ad revenue, they shouldn't be in the business.
And pro sports are, simply, entertainment businesses. There would be about as much sense in leveling targeted taxes to build a new movie theater.
It seems clear that if a business cannot afford to pay salaries, or provide "office" space for employees, there should be no expectation that the public has an obligation to provide subsidies. Voting in favor of these handouts is certainly an option citizens can exercise, but it really seems silly and terribly misguided.
I'm happy to see the Sonics get bounced out. I think it would (hopefully) put a stake in the ground on these types of subsidies. The fact that city officials are fighting this move is outrageous. If the Sonics are willing to buy out the remaining months on the lease, let them. If the city is not clever enough to find an alternate use for Key Arena, they shouldn't be in the business of running it.
You can't take a family of 4 regularly to Sonics game unless you are well to do. John Salley said, we used to play in front of the auto workers; now it's the auto execs. As I said, I'm a lifelong NBA fan, but not sorry to see the Sonics go.
Posted by: russell garrard on March 5, 2008 05:20 PM