Hagan helped create a private non-profit entity so he could negotiate a land deal without having to deal with public records. He praised the secretly-negotiated, more-expensive-than-anticipated, possibly-illegal Braves deal. He never got buy-in from the City of Tampa.
Hell, Hagan didn't even tell Tampa's mayor or the Rays that he was announcing his deal last week. And he went out of his way to withhold the news from media outlets that have previously challenged him on transparency issues and his lack of compliance on public record laws.
Now, Hagan wants you to know that he has the PERFECT location for the Rays!...but somehow has not yet discussed financing specifics yet with the team.
How's that for transparency?
Actually, it matches the Rays' record on the subject.
This blog has spent years calling for the Rays to be more transparent regarding its stadium "need," and what kind of tax money it is looking for. The Tampa Tribune once joined the chorus. The Tampa Bay Times has also joined recently, writing "secrecy will erode public confidence, especially in this era of public skepticism of government." It penned a similar editorial in 2016.
But the same thing is happening in Tampa that happens in cities all over the country. Even though sunshine protects taxpayers, politicians go out of their way to keep their discussions private.
By foolishly thinking they can out-negotiate leagues that squeezes taxpayers for a living, many politicians only succeed in ensuring their legacy as pro sports' "sweethearts."
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While the other commissioners are "pissed", is there nothing they can do to force Hagan to go public with all the details of his backroom deals?
ReplyDeleteWhy do you need to know everything, the less the public knows the better it'll be...
DeleteThe math simply does not work for getting a new stadium.
ReplyDeleteLet’s assume the new stadium yields an increase of 10,000 fans per game, which is what Tampa Bay Rays president Brian Auld said about 2 years ago, was needed for the Rays to be viable. Brian also said that would translate into about $20 million per year in additional revenue. Per http://www.stevetheump.com/Payrolls.htm , the Rays opening day payroll for the 2017 MLB season was $70 million, and MLB average team payroll is $138 million. So the Rays are $68 million below the MLB average. Adding $20 million revenue is not going to make the Rays more competitive, especially when you consider that it will cost $34 million per year (30 years/4%) to build the $600 million stadium.
The only way the Rays can get near an average team payroll is for MLB to be much more aggressive in revenue sharing. So the premise that a new stadium will make the Rays more competitive is fallacious. And for the Rays to average 25,000 year after year is by no means a slam dunk, IMHO
Your thinking too much into it, it's not that complicated. It's not about winning more or filling seats w/ more butts, ask the Yankees, it about profits, values, and assets!
DeleteThis, I agree with Dufala. But Scott knows that.
DeleteStadiums don't make teams more competitive. The Mariners were more competitive in their old dome.
ReplyDeleteImportant quotes...
ReplyDelete"to what officials are now saying is the Rays’ hand-picked location for a Tampa ballpark."
""This whole thing has been done in a vacuum, behind the scenes, out of the sunshine," Commissioner Victor Crist said.", as I been saying, but couldn't really, NOah, your missing the story while just sitting back asking who's going to pay for it! lol The Port's cleaning & developing thier strip along Channelside is part of the bigger picture as well. Again, everything is good, it's just been a matter of Vinnik being a slow polk... lol
http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/Meet-the-middlemen-helping-to-bring-the-Tampa-Bay-Rays-to-Ybor-City_162285331
In all actually, out of respect to your profession, we both know obtaining info on what was and is going on, would of and is next to impossible.
DeleteGreat blog you hhave
ReplyDelete