Yankees want taxpayers to chip in for new stadium
The Yankees are reaching out to New York tax payers to help cover the cost of their brand new stadium, which is set to open this season.
But the same team that was so generous with its players now wants New York taxpayers to be even more generous than they already have been in helping fund for a stadium built for the singular purpose of making the Yankees even more money.
The Yankees are going back hat-in-hand this week to ask the city for another $259 million in tax-exempt bonds on top of the $940 million in similar bonds they’ve already gotten for the new stadium, saying the extra money is needed, among other things, to pay for a state-of-the-art big screen and to properly finish off the stadium’s luxury suites.
Now I’m no economist, but doesn’t something seem a little off here?
Just weeks after committing some $423.5 million for Sabathia, Teixeira and A.J. Burnett, the Yankees need to float nearly that much in bonds at taxpayer expense just to finish the stadium? Couldn’t they reach out to their new players and get a loan from them instead?
Yankees president Randy Levine insisted Wednesday in a contentious hearing that the team is paying for its own stadium and that grandstanding politicians are to blame for even making an issue out of the latest request. Although he’s right about the issue becoming a political, er, football, the fact remains that the city of New York and its taxpayers are heavily subsidizing the stadium, too.
They’re hardly setting a precedent. Since the Baltimore Orioles soaked taxpayers for the first retro stadium, Camden Yards, in 1992, baseball owners have managed to con the public in 17 other cities for new parks of their own. In almost all cases, the majority of the money spent on these new stadiums has come from taxes or fees imposed for just that purpose.
In the case of Yankee Stadium, it will be the Yankees paying off the bonds. But because they’re tax free, it means the bonds will carry lower interest rates and the team will avoid spending tens of millions of dollars it would have otherwise had to pay on the borrowed money.
When everything is included, it adds up pretty quick. Figures released by the city’s Independent Budget Office tallied a whopping total public subsidy at more than $500 million, with another quarter billion dollars or so for the Mets’ new stadium in Queens.
Like the writer, I don’t live in New York so I can’t be outraged over the fact that taxpayers have to chip in to help with the cost of the Yankees’ new stadium. And it’s hardly fair to criticize only the Yankees for doing this when 17 other teams are doing the same thing.
But in a time of economic hardship, this doesn’t seem right. Baseball needs a cap. If teams like the Yankees didn’t spend millions of dollars on free agents every year, maybe they could foot the entire bill for a new stadium.
The Evil Empire always seems to amaze me……. always in a negative way.
Just when you think they get away with everything being in their favor ….. they come up with one more.
The difference here is that they re building a palace, not a stadium.
Cities lik Cleveland benefitted greatly from getting new downtown stadiums. The pricetag here is over the top – just so the Yankees can drive ridiculous revenues.
The public should be involved in that.
They got more frigging money then anybody, enough to spend a half billion in the off season, and I gotta pay for their stadium???? Scumbags.
I’am literally on my way to Connecticut to look at a house, so hopefully I won’t be contributing to to this fund.
Meanwhile, nobody wants to help the Islanders and will probably be in KC very soon….. They lose 20 million a year and the Yankees make money habd over fist. Somethings wrong!
Cry me a river people….The New York Yankees bring in millions and millions to NY and NY City on land that would be otherwise a friggin slum and you people all know it for God sakes….
The Yankee’s provide not only jobs at the Stadium but also feed into local hotel, resturants, bars, planes, trains, cabs, paper, plastic, Police on and on…
They are as important to NY as any other major business located there.
Stop the yapping…..and start worrying about Hillary, Carolin, Charlie Rangle and Chuck Schummer and Bloomberg. These are the people taking your real tax money and giving nothing back.
You read a headline and all of a sudden that’s it, that’s the answer….its the Yankees fault
Unbelievable
Hey, I moved out of NY years ago and I’m glad I did. Because of the tax situation,Hillary,Charlie,Rev Al,the weather,the yankees,Giants/Jets Stadium and about 40 other things.
My problem isn’t the stadium – my problem is No Salary Cap in baseball allowing the yankees to do whatever they dam well please.
I really don’t care who pays for their stadium – I don’t care if it was made of 24k gold.
Before you send out your hate mails because I’ve said this 100 times. I blame the MLB for no salary cap .. not the yankees. I blame the yankees for abusing the crap out of it.
I know the topic was the stadium and I went Salary Cap on you – sorry – but it IS relavent.
If the Skanks bring in so much money, then pay for your own fu…. stadium! This is basically a bailout for a
sorry….computer screwed up in the middle of my rant.
This is a bailout for a “company” that is more than financially sound. I was told this is a business, not a sport. The Stinkbrenner heebs paid a half billion for players, but want taxpayer money to finish their stadium. Thats bullshit and you know it. This should have been put up for a vote, but this is a dem state. I look forward to living in a state that has no professional sports
Looking at this reply, I guess no other teams in their respective cities, state provide the same benefits:
“The Yankee’s provide not only jobs at the Stadium but also feed into local hotel, resturants, bars, planes, trains, cabs, paper, plastic, Police on and on… ”
I guess the rest of the league reside in South Dakota….
Us New Yorkers don’t really want a slum where the new stadium is, but what happened to the parks that were there before the new stadium???
Don’t answer that, us taxpayers will pay for new ones along with Jeter and A-Rods parking. Lord knows they can’t afford it.
The islanders are going to KC because nobody friggen cares about the Islanders. NYC needs the Yankees. Deal with it.