Hillsborough County's biggest pot of money possibly available for a new stadium would be in new rental car taxes, which tend to be easy pills to swallow politically, because they put most of the burden on out-of-towners (even if those visitors have no clue the region has a MLB team).
However, new rental car taxes at Tampa International Airport are currently illegal. So the Rays would need help from the legislature. Which typically requires a little lobbying firepower.
Not to mention, the team could use some help with another legal issue its having with the state.
MLB teams hiring lobbyists is hardly unheard of; several have succeeded in the legislative sausage factory by hiring "governmental relations experts."
So how long before the Rays hire theirs? We'll have some sort of an idea; professional lobbyists in Florida need to register with the state.
I think the opposition to the Rays has a great candidate for their lead lobbyist, a Red Sox fan, go figure... lol
ReplyDeleteNoah,
ReplyDeleteHow come it is ok for rental car taxes to be redirected to millionaire/billionaire owners, and never to the most deserving citizens in the community in need? Looks like Tampa will continue to have the highest per capita homeless rate in the USA.
Who are the several MLB teams that have hired 'governmental relations experts' and how much have they paid for them?
I never said it was OK.
DeleteI don't have a complete list of lobbyists - or their compensations - since every state's lobbyist registrations are different. But the Red Sox more or less pioneered what a sports team can do with lobbying.
Noah,
DeleteCan you provide us with the incomplete list of lobbyists and compensations?
Thanks.
I don't have time to compile - it would require a search state-by-state.
DeleteBut here is a good start for you:
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/onpolitics/post/2012/04/baseball-lobbying-politics-bud-selig-peter-angelos/1
The ownership group of the Rays already employs two lobbying firms in Florida, and One in DC.
ReplyDeleteCan you supply details, Marcus?
Delete