BLUE JACKETS/NATIONWIDE: GIVE US A BAILOUT OR WE'LL RUIN THE ARENA DISTRICT
| By Doug - Feb 5th, 2010 at 10:23 am EST |
Contact the Franklin County Commissioners if you share some of my concerns:
Commissioner John O'Grady
614.462.5589
skkeels(ATSIGN)franklincountyohio.gov
Commissioner Paula Brooks
614.462.5729
wesecres(ATSIGN)franklincountyohio.gov
Commissioner Marilyn Brown
614-462-3461
ljstehle(ATSIGN)franklincountyohio.gov
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/02/05/Blue_Jackets.ART_ART_02-05-10_A1_9TGGN10.html
I have many questions and concerns regarding the Dispatch's coverage of proposals to bailout Nationwide Arena and the Columbus Blue Jackets:
1. What percentage of Franklin County residents attend Blue Jacket games? Why should the rest of us subsidize the leisure activities of an affluent few?
2. Nationwide chose to build a 20,000 seat arena 3 miles away from another 20,000 seat arena. Shouldn't the free market be allowed to work? Why should the business plans of Nationwide and the Blue Jackets be rescued at a time that so many other businesses are struggling?
3. Several Recreation Centers in Columbus have been closed. Federal, state and local governments are cutting programs and enacting spending freezes. Unemployment is high and wages are declining. What a time for a hockey bailout.
4. Many economic studies show that professional sports do little for a local economy and that money spent for pro sports would instead be spent to go bowling or going to the movies. Why should the government pick winners and losers in the economy?
5. Forward Together seems like an astro-turf organization rather than grass-roots. The red sign in the photo does not look home made. Anyone can start a group and say we'll meet at a bar and claim that everyone there is part of my organization. I've been part of many grassroots organizations that never get coverage in the Dispatch. CEOs should be made front and center in the bailout campaign not hockey fans hanging out in a bar. psst...if the Blue Jackets had so many fans they wouldn't need a bailout.
6. There are more than a dozen NHL teams in deep financial trouble. The NHL over- expanded. Shouldn't NHL owners offer players $250,000/year contracts rather than multi-million dollar salaries?
7. What's the difference between the tactics of a hostage taker and the tactics of CBJ/Nationwide? Our community seems to being told, "Give us taxpayer money or else we'll ruin the Arena District." It's just like the Wall Street Bank bailout all over again.
8. Proposals to reform healthcare/health insurance get reported in the Dispatch with opponents claiming that it's "socialism" or "communism." (Isn't all insurance socialist?) Beyond the naked self-interest of business holdings of the Wolfe family, why should a hockey bailout get framed so positively? (The Wolfe Family owns the Dispatch and partly owns Nationwide Arena and the Columbus Blue Jackets).
Commissioner John O'Grady
614.462.5589
skkeels(ATSIGN)franklincountyohio.gov
Commissioner Paula Brooks
614.462.5729
wesecres(ATSIGN)franklincountyohio.gov
Commissioner Marilyn Brown
614-462-3461
ljstehle(ATSIGN)franklincountyohio.gov
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/02/05/Blue_Jackets.ART_ART_02-05-10_A1_9TGGN10.html
I have many questions and concerns regarding the Dispatch's coverage of proposals to bailout Nationwide Arena and the Columbus Blue Jackets:
1. What percentage of Franklin County residents attend Blue Jacket games? Why should the rest of us subsidize the leisure activities of an affluent few?
2. Nationwide chose to build a 20,000 seat arena 3 miles away from another 20,000 seat arena. Shouldn't the free market be allowed to work? Why should the business plans of Nationwide and the Blue Jackets be rescued at a time that so many other businesses are struggling?
3. Several Recreation Centers in Columbus have been closed. Federal, state and local governments are cutting programs and enacting spending freezes. Unemployment is high and wages are declining. What a time for a hockey bailout.
4. Many economic studies show that professional sports do little for a local economy and that money spent for pro sports would instead be spent to go bowling or going to the movies. Why should the government pick winners and losers in the economy?
5. Forward Together seems like an astro-turf organization rather than grass-roots. The red sign in the photo does not look home made. Anyone can start a group and say we'll meet at a bar and claim that everyone there is part of my organization. I've been part of many grassroots organizations that never get coverage in the Dispatch. CEOs should be made front and center in the bailout campaign not hockey fans hanging out in a bar. psst...if the Blue Jackets had so many fans they wouldn't need a bailout.
6. There are more than a dozen NHL teams in deep financial trouble. The NHL over- expanded. Shouldn't NHL owners offer players $250,000/year contracts rather than multi-million dollar salaries?
7. What's the difference between the tactics of a hostage taker and the tactics of CBJ/Nationwide? Our community seems to being told, "Give us taxpayer money or else we'll ruin the Arena District." It's just like the Wall Street Bank bailout all over again.
8. Proposals to reform healthcare/health insurance get reported in the Dispatch with opponents claiming that it's "socialism" or "communism." (Isn't all insurance socialist?) Beyond the naked self-interest of business holdings of the Wolfe family, why should a hockey bailout get framed so positively? (The Wolfe Family owns the Dispatch and partly owns Nationwide Arena and the Columbus Blue Jackets).
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For the sake of Franklin County taxpayers, I strongly urge the County not to take over ownership of Nationwide Arena. What would happen if the CBJ kept losing money and the franchise folded or left town? Taxpayers could be stuck with a huge liability.
Columbus was 25th in the NHL last year in attendence (first playoff year in franchise history) with an average attendence of 15,543. This year it's down to 15,221. And, the average will go sharply down as the mediocre season progresses. Fans must support a losing team to make a franchise sustainable. With 30 some teams in the NHL, few teams will go deep in the playoffs.
The petition at the Forward Together Columbus website does not require verification or even leaving an email address. Doesn't that make the petition suspect? The Blue Jackets could easily pay some interns to make up bogus names to boost the petition or even one rabid fan could sign the petition with 100 bogus names in just a half hour.
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During the 2004-2005 season when there was a lockout. The city of Columbus lost $700,000 in tax revenue.
A research report conducted by The Fisher College of Business at Ohio State reported the following.
"Using 2006 data, researchers at the John Glenn School of Public Policy at The Ohio State University identified more than $630 million in investments in the Arena District. As a result of these investments, the Arena District is home to more than 170 businesses that employ more than 5,500 people and generate sales of $1.6 billion annually. Conservative estimates identify $30 million generated in state and local taxes annually."
Many of those jobs and much of that tax revenue would dry up if the Blue Jackets leave.
But the Blue Jackets need help. The same Fisher College study found that the Jackets have one of the lousiest lease agreements in the NHL.
I'm not sure if you've been to a game, but I've been to many. The vast majority of the crowd would not be people I would consider affluent. Most appear to be middle class. You can get tickets for as low as $20. Going to a hockey game is cheaper than other sports.
Real grass-roots says the average attendance at CBJ games this year has been 15,221. Attendance at the last OSU basketball game was 14,148. That's with the CBJ having a terrible season and the Buckeyes playing a Big Ten opponent and ranked 18th in the nation.
When I was growing up, no one went downtown. I don't want to see Columbus move back towards being a cow town. The Columbus Blue Jackets are definitely worth saving.
What a Hockey Bailout is really about is welfare for some of the wealthiest people and companies in Columbus. Mark S. Rosentraub's book "Major League Losers: The Real Cost Of Sports And Who's Paying For It" shows how Pro Sports teams are losers for local economies.
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I oppose corporate socialism for the rich and powerful and market capitalism for all of us peons as New York Times Reporter David Cay Johnston explains:
"President Bush, who will go down in history as the great tax cutter, owes almost all of his fortune to a tax increase that was funneled into his pocket. What happened is, an oil man named Eddie Chiles wanted to sell his money-losing Texas Rangers baseball team. They played in a little stadium, smaller than the one we have here in Rochester, New York, and of course couldn't make any money. So George Bush put together a group of very wealthy investors to buy the team. He put up himself $600,000 of borrowed money. The partners then gave him a 10 percent stake as the managing partner. That's a very common arrangement in business. Then they held a special election in January of the year in question to increase the sales tax in the town of Arlington, Texas, by one half-cent. That money was used to build a new baseball stadium. It's an incredibly nice baseball stadium."
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