Threats - and lies

Our sports palaces were built under the threat that a team might seek greener pastures.  While the football team did refrain from openly saying that, it surely was common knowledge why the stadium was built. 

Now, with the CIB financially strapped, the threats, very thinly veiled, rise again.  Nowadays they sound like this.  "Well, we sure would hate to have to board up the place!"

Frankly, we think it all comes right out of the old playbook.  The public was first told about the operating shortage at the Oilcan several months ago.  At the time the CIB said, "There is no Plan B."  

In other words, we'll build the d....d thing, plead poverty, then suggest the possibility of having to shut down a quarter billion dollar property, knowing full well that won't be allowed to happen.

The agreement between the CIB and the state was signed in 2005 - 4 years ago.  Are they admitting that these community "leaders" - in four years - hadn't realized that a much larger building might run a few bucks more to operate?

It turns out that one of our earlier posts was sort of prophetic.  Seems the basketball team does expect the city - the taxpayer - to pay it to play in the Fieldhouse.  The operational costs - the only financial responsibility of the team - are very likely to land on the back of Joe Citizen.

We're now told the team has lost money in 26 of the last 28 years of operation.  It would seem that, by any exercise of logic, this is a business which ought to fold its tent (our tent!) and steal away into the dark of night.  At least the city would then receive the revenues from non-basketball events at the facility.

The threat to shutter the Oilcan sounds a bit hollow, too.  How many times have we been told the stadium will be an integral part of convention center action?  We've always heard that "other events" will pack the house again and again throughout the year.  Surely, under these circumstances, the departure of the football team would not be a total economic loss.

Or are the lies we've been told over the years now coming back to bite the liars?

On the other hand, maybe we should count our (relative) blessings.  Locally, the taxpayers will be stuck for only a few millions of dollars.  Chump change!  Bailouts in Washington are measured in the hundreds of billions.  Almost makes us embarrassed to have raised the question at all!

Comments

[Leslie Baker]

Tonight's 6 p.m. news had the "oh my gosh, what if we lose the Pacers?" story near the top of the hour. So what?! If the owners of the Pacers or the Colts gave a damn about this city, they'd be trying to help us, not put the screws to the taxpayers again, particularly in this economy. How about cutting players' overly large salaries or renegotiating the one-sided deals made with the city? The way these guys avoid paying taxes, you'd think they were in line to be appointed to Obama's administration.

It's beyond me how the CIB and their gang (in the worst sense of the word) can keep promulgating this crap, and even more so how the people of Indianapolis can continue to not only swallow it but wait for more of it to be shoved down their throats.

I have noticed that the local daily newspaper (or, more accurately, ad-paper) is starting to raise a question or two about this whole situation. Seriously? As if no one there has heard the questions asked repeatedly on this blog, the ones they continue to refuse to acknowledge, much less investigate?

None of this is "world class."

[John Howard]

Since these teams are revealing they lose money every year, why should we make up their shortfall? What are they doing to ensure they will become solvent? Nothing.

Pay them now and we'll do it again next year and the year after that and on and on.

[Vox Populi]

To paraphrase a familiar quote, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it". So the CIB told us 25 years ago that 1% in restaurant taxes would pay for the dome. Then in recent history they told us another 1% in restaurant taxes and an increase in hotel taxes would pay for LOS. And now they say we only need another 1% in restaurant taxes another other 1% in hotel taxes and everything will be fine!
I would concur if we 'bend again' that next year the pro teams will find another urgent need and expect a further increase in taxes to cover their shortfalls.
The reality check for the CIB is that we paid 1% for 25 plus years and still owe more than the original bond of 77+ million because the city has used that tax revenue stream for it's petty cash fund.
The LOS plus the convention center will be closer to 1 billion dollars in bonds plus interest plus 20 million / year for maintenance and that total over 30 years will be about 2.6 billion in tax payers dollars!
When 8-9% of the country is unemployed I can't find much sympathy for the Pacer's owners who are worth 4.4 billion dollars, a loss of 15 million is about 1/3 of 1% of their net worth. Since my 401k lost 25-30% I can't see their problem.

[John Howard]

And lest we forget - any time ANYONE voiced opposition to 'it's only a 1% increase, you can afford that' they were labelled as hicks, nearsighted, stupid and often requested to move somewhere else if they didn't like it.

What I've noticed is that all of those vocal supporters have gone silent. Several that I found constantly denigrating the opponents have completely vanished, most notably the ones from the IndyStar comment pages. I always suspected they were 'planted' shills working secretly for the CIB or other parties to the projects. Now I'm sure of it.