Boilermaker Rick wrote:
No Clever Moniker wrote:
The belief that JR isn't all that bad is a by-product of the favorable media coverage he enjoys, particular among those who toe the company line. Bacardi in the Park should be getting the same scrutiny that The Park Grill is getting, though in typical Chicago fashion nothing will be done until enough money has been made, and maybe one or two people are no longer able to testify.
That is just how it is in sports though. Cities give up a lot to keep teams. Many cities are giving many owners significantly more than what Jerry gets. If you want to talk about the big picture issue of how sports and cities interact then we can but to single out a guy who is getting some good but not great benefits doesn't really make sense. I feel like I must point out once again that Jim Irsay, a billionaire based solely on his ownership of the Colts, gets paid millions of dollars every time the Final Four, Big Ten championship or any other event is played at a stadium he doesn't own. He gets 50% of the revenue for all non-Colts events in the stadium, while not paying anything for the operations of it.
No Clever Moniker wrote:
The 7 titles are greatly appreciated but it shouldn't strike people deaf, dumb, or blind. Then again maybe it does, maybe it should. Credit him with winning then saddle him with the complaints.
The success of his teams is very important in this discussion. That is what makes what he gets from the tax payers a relative bargain.
The standard response to this is "Well, just because someone is doing something worse, doesn't make it alright". Well, when we live in a world where sports teams pay for everything themselves then we can talk like that. In the real world, Jerry is actually quite generous. I have no doubt if he really wanted that he could get the city and state to build him a completely new baseball stadium.
Some counties hold one-sided meetings where they approve $435M for a new MLB stadium to replace the existing 20 year old stadium (Fulton, GA). Some states decide to put enough skin into the game to displace teams without changing their name (welcome to New Jersey). Some owners just say "fuck it" and plop down a stadium where it suits their ego or wallet. Crediting Jerry Reinsdorf for abstaining from more BOHICA from the bent over local tax payers does not make him a saint.
The deals that are struck all over the country reflect various resources, needs and externalities. The Lucas Oil deal was too much to completely consume this morning but I couldn't figure how Irsay was able to BOHICA Marion County for another stadium (he claims he didn't ask them for a new stadium). The only cleverness in sticking taxpayers with the tab of using their own money (bond debt service) is avoiding scrutiny of the debt's shortfall long enough to get approval.
I'm also not ready to extrapolate the complete value of winning for an owner's actions or intents. Reinsdorf got six of his rings in a stadium that wasn't publicly funded (excluding infrastructure improvements and massive imminent domain activity). At the taxypayer stadium he got one ring (the value of which in comparison is ??) and since you mention him, Irsay also has a ring
The original point is that the criticisms of Hawk Harrelson eventually rest with the owner, win or lose. To make it a daily segment of looking for the same criticisms is as cliched as Hawk, to keep the range of criticism limited is just pure...B&B.
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