From Deseret News archives:
Why the push for a stadium?
For that matter, Huntsman and other political leaders need to explain exactly why a rejection of the stadium, and the subsequent departure of Real Salt Lake to either St. Louis or Philadelphia, would be, as Salt Lake Mayor Rocky Anderson put it, a "black eye" for the community.
Ever since Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon had the audacity to put the public purse ahead of professional sports by rejecting the stadium deal, politicians in this state have been scurrying to make the stadium happen anyway. Now the governor says everyone has until Friday of this week to give RSL the money before the team moves. But a couple of points seem to have been lost in all the panic.
The first is that taxpayers do exist at various levels. In other words, there are no federal taxpayers, county taxpayers and state taxpayers. Every adult in Utah answers to all the above. Corroon was elected to guard Salt Lake County's budget. He decided, with the help of experts such as ERA and the county's debt review commission, that the stadium deal would amount to gambling with public funds. Now state lawmakers, with the governor's support, are working on a plan that would take money from the county and do virtually the same thing as the deal Corroon rejected. But the county would be left with the debt and loss of revenue.
This goes beyond micromanaging. It would be just plain irresponsible governing. Unless, that is, the people pushing this plan can provide convincing empirical evidence, on the order of ERA's thorough research, as to why a stadium would be a good investment.
The other lost point is that, rather than being a maverick, Corroon is following a nationwide trend in which communities are beginning to reject public handouts to wealthy professional team owners. If his decision was a black eye to the county, what was a decision by Seattle voters, by an overwhelming 74 percent, to reject a new NBA basketball arena last fall? That the Sonics are threatening to move to Oklahoma after 40 years in Seattle.
What was the overwhelming rejection of a new Kings arena by voters in Sacramento, Calif., last fall, which may mean the loss of their NBA team? What was a 72 percent vote in Pasadena, Calif., to reject public funding for a renovation of the Rose Bowl that would have been used to attract an NFL team? What was the defeat of a soccer stadium ballot item in Overland Park, Kan.?
It seems black eyes are popping up all over the landscape. Either that or people are getting fed up with paying taxes for pro sports. Opinion polls have shown Utahns strongly support Corroon's decision. The governor and others need to explain why that's wrong.
