Quote:
Originally Posted by ThePhun1
Moving this along further, do you guys think it's a good idea for suburbs that want a little publicity to fund them to any degree. I say no because I haven't seen any tangible benefit that Orchard Park (Bills), Glendale (AZ Cardinals and Coyotes), Sunshine (FLA Panthers), East Rutherford (various NY and NJ teams) have seen.
I'm not sure how many of those places publically funded their stadiums or if they were seeking publicity, with that said.
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I can speak to Foxboro, MA. The new Gillette Stadium was financed entirely by the ownership, but the state paid for infrastructure upgrades on and around Rt 1 to greatly improve accessibility by car, as well as upgrading the Foxboro Stadium MBTA station. The town didn't have to spend a dime. In fact, because of how Mass municipal law works, the new stadium went up to a town vote. Of course it passed by over 90%, but Kraft donates a lot of new equipment to all of the Foxboro HS sports teams every year, built a new park and Pop Warner field for the town, and the stadium contributes over a $1 million a year in taxes to the town from regular season games alone. Since the Pats go deep in the playoffs every year, there's added money from post season games. Plus MLS games, and a good 5-6 arena-level concerts a year, and the town makes out quite well. Now Kraft has built up the surrounding area into Patriot Place, complete with the region's largest Bass Pro Shop and a bunch of other meh restaurants, bars, chain retail at the mid-high end. There's an out-patient facility for the hospital my mother works for. Added bonus: high school playoff and state super bowl games get played there for free.
The town collects a portion of all the parking receipts too. And the liquor licenses. The only real downside is the police duty work costs and the traffic, which shuts down Rt 1 for 2 hours before and 2 hours after the games. And the concerts can be really loud until 11:30 on week nights. Goddamn New England Country Music Festival.