Thursday, October 22, 2015

Miami Dolphins Re-Apply for State Stadium Cash

The Miami Dolphins were the first pro team to apply for state stadium funds this year - a controversial revenue stream that this blog has scrutinized at-length (see bevy of links below).

After countless blog posts and several WTSP investigations on the poor ROI from the state's stadium subsidies, lawmakers ultimately decided this year to just return the earmarked money back to the state's general revenue funds so they can be used for the kind of things Floridians use every day, like schools and roads.

Of course, the four applicants last year proved my point that the scary repercussion of not publicly-subsidizing stadiums is teams just pay for them themselves.  Daytona International Speedway, the Miami Dolphins, the Jacksonville Jaguars, and Orlando City Soccer all continued their construction anyway without the public funds, with the soccer club ultimately pulling their application in May, saying they didn't need the money after all.

No word on if the Jags and Daytona Int'l Speedway will re-apply for the funds this year, but the Dolphins are, using their exact same application.  Read the Dolphins application here.

In the application, the Dolphins aren't claiming the subsidies would create any new jobs or economy...just that renovations would allow them to rip out seats and charge fans more for tickets.

So who else is expected to apply this year?  As first reported on WTSP-TV and this blog...the Tampa Bay Buccaneers!

The big questions now - how many seats to the Glazers want to rip out, and how much more do they plan on charging fans post-renovation?

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:
5/29/15 - GASP! Orlando City Soccer Didn't Get Expected State Funds & Will Now...Just Pay for It Themselves
4/11/15 - Pro Teams Want Tax Money So They Can Rip Out Seats (and Charge You More)
2/19/15 - Lawmakers Kick Can Down the Road...Again...on State Stadium Subsidies
2/12/15 - Conservative group launches anti-stadium subsidy radio ad
2/11/15 - Lobbying ramps up after rankings come in





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5 comments:

  1. Noah,
    Why would the Glazers want to rip out seats? That would just further reduce the chances for Tampa Bay getting another Super Bowl.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. For the same reasons the Dolphins did it. The NFL cares about revenues, not attendance.

      Delete
    2. How does fewer seats increase revenue?

      Delete
    3. In many cases, it allows for the creation of more "premium" seating, which raises average ticket prices significantly. General seating prices go up too.

      Delete
  2. Hmmm,
    In the Bucs recent 'sellout', all the non-premium seats were sold, not so for the premium seats. If the current set of premium seats can't currently be sold out, why would the Bucs think they could sell an even greater number of premium seats in the future?

    ReplyDelete