Was the construction of Petco Park beneficial to tax payers?
by jbox on Oct 28, 2009 1:29 PM PDT
Email
PrintSan Diego's AAA affiliate Portland Beavers are trying to build a new stadium. The owners want Portland tax payers to pay for 59% of the $59 million total cost or approximately $35 million.
Proponents say that taxes would only increase $50 a year for each resident.
Opponents say that numbers do not include a $37.5 million parking lot that would also need to be built. Not only that but the city would have to take a $43.5 million bond over 25 years which in the end would bring the cost over $100 million. So the total would be $140 million plus a half a million a year for maintenance and oversight.
They say Ballparks only redistribute wealth instead of bringing economic development. They point to San Diego's Petco Park as an example of the failure.
"The San Diego ballpark is obviously one of [pro sports’] worst outcomes," says Stanford’s Noll. "The problem is that these things get sold on the basis of economic return. It is completely bogus. If people think of it as consumption instead of investment,"
There's a 38 page Stanford Graduate Business School case study floating around that says "a win for all involved — the City, San Diego taxpayers, and the Padres."
Opponents say that the case study was written before attendance dropped below the last 3 year average at Qualcomm and that hotels and condos are not doing well.
Who to believe?
25 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Geeze....
If San Diego isn’t an example of a ballpark anchoring a revitalized downtown, I don’t know what is. It used to be ugly down there and walking was out of the question. Now I park on the street at 9th and A and walk in for night games, no problem.
Agreed on that front.
But for your average John and Jane Taxpayer who don’t like baseball and don’t live anywhere near that part of the city, was there any benefit?
by theodore donald kerabatsos on Oct 28, 2009 2:19 PM PDT up reply actions
If you never go down town for any reason, then there is no bennefit. That being said, the CCDC is now paying 100% of the Bond payment, using tax revenue geneated in the redevelopment district. So, the people who never go downtown are not on the hook for one dime.
Property tax revenue geneated in the redevelopment district
is even far greater than was originally estimated when the ballpark was being built. So the city, i.e. citizens are getting a ton of money back on their investment… Is that money being well spent, probably not. But none the less Petco Park is generating a crap load of money for the city.
I can only speak as a Padres fan
who doesn’t live within the city limits. But PETCO is the one thing the city has done right, ever.
Still waiting on a Charger stadium deal
The airport sucks
Convention Center needs expansion, should’ve happened already
But hey, I hear you could get a fine pension for being on the city council…
Isn't it enough to know that I ruined a pony making a gift for you? ◔ヮ◔
Uncommon Sportsman :: Absurdity in play
hotels and condos are not doing well
Yeah, the poor play of the Padres has a lot more to do with that than the economy. Who comes to San Diego just to see the Padres?
Has Petco had a positive impact on the city? Of course. Was it worth the taxpayer money? I dunno, seems like it to me. Taxes are crazy high in this state anyway, at least we got something tangible for the money.
I think a lot of this is dependant on the Padres doing well.
If the Padres become a bigger draw, the hotels and condos will likely do better. As it is now downtown isn’t AS MUCH of a hotspot as it could be if the Padres were kicking butt every year, like the Chargers. If the Chargers played in Petco (just work with me here) I think all these questions of “was it worth it” would be easily answerable.
Then again I have very little knowledge of the finances behind the ballpark, so I really don’t know what I’m talking about.
Well, relative to what the Padres are doing.
And I was thinking more of the last 5 years or so, rather than this year or even last year. Kicking butt may have been an exaggeration, but they are winning every year and that’s really what I meant.
Yeah the Padres have been horrible lately
having winning seasons in 2004, 2005, 2006 & 2007 and making the playoffs in 2 of those years and barely missing out on another year.
Yeah, that's great.
Meanwhile, the Chargers have made the playoffs every year since 04 with the exception of 05, and have even gasp won some games once they got there. And lets not kid ourselves, the Padres were never real threats to do much in the playoffs anyway, except maybe ’06. The Chargers on the other hand have been considered at the top of the AFC since at least 06 (despite not living up to that so far this year). I never said the Padres were horrible anyway.
by JollyWaffle on Oct 28, 2009 7:40 PM PDT up reply actions 2 recs
Either way
It has very little to do with the performance of the team and more to do with the fact that credit is either non-existent or unavailable.
Also when the news keeps reporting airfare sales as news, you know it’s a sign they really want people to travel.
Isn't it enough to know that I ruined a pony making a gift for you? ◔ヮ◔
Uncommon Sportsman :: Absurdity in play
Agreed
it’s not like if I were to move somewhere I’d go “hmmmm…..now where can I move that is close to a winning team??”
Okay so maybe the house and condos comment was dumb.
But think about it. Would there be as many concerns of whether or not the park was worth it if people were showing up to the games? If attendance numbers weren’t in the tens of thousands? I say no. Therefore, the Padres need to play better to raise attendance, and get people to stop asking if Petco was a worthy investment. In this way, the Padres’ performance DOES matter in this whole equation.
It's hard to isolate the Padres' attendance from the overall economic situation.
To look at what is happening now and say we could have spent $300m better then is a pretty obvious, and useless, statement. Frankly, I say blow hard in another direction, Don Bauder.
Isn't it enough to know that I ruined a pony making a gift for you? ◔ヮ◔
Uncommon Sportsman :: Absurdity in play
I don't think so...
Condos are not doing well because nobody can’t get any credit to purchase homes and hotels are not selling because people are selecting not to travel.
But I can see the City benefiting. There were new businesses popping up in downtown rather than say in other parts of the county. Taxes through those companies stay with the city.
I'm trying to think but nothing happens ~ Curly Howard
The Reader
does not actually report the news. Outside of local entertainment and coupons for boob jobs it’s complete bullshit thanks to writers like Don Bauder. Zero real research and completely one sided.
by Jonny Dub on Oct 28, 2009 4:53 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
Don't forget
ads for medical marijuana.
Isn't it enough to know that I ruined a pony making a gift for you? ◔ヮ◔
Uncommon Sportsman :: Absurdity in play
So when Bauder wrote for the UT
he was fully accurate and the UT was on the level of the NYT or WSJ?
But now that Bauder is with the Reader, he has jumped the shark?
Meanwhile the UT continues to put stories about snow flurries in Ohio, and tea bagger rallies on the front page.
petco park was the best thing that happened in san diego
in the past 20 years, development wise
The misnomer is that
Stadiums create revenue for the city. They do not.
The success and benefits of PETCO is difficult to fully judge because it is part of a much larger revitalization.
It gets distorted over time.
People forget that the Gaslamp, Convention Center, Horton Plaza and the real estate bubble, all contributed to the revitalization as well.
san diego fans
I was born and raised in SD, the problem we have with sports fans is that most of the people who want to live in our city, are from somewhere else, if they like there team from somewhere else, go back where you came from, downtown used to be the worse place to be until the Ballpark was built. Yes the Chargers need a new stadium, however to all the fans we need to support the teams in good times and bad..no jumping off the BandWagon……..
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
