I can't believe we're still paying for sports arenas

I mean, I know why we are, but still...

I spent a lot of time writing, reading, editing and thinking about sports. For about six years it was my full-time job, and it was either a part-time job or obsession for years before and after that.

So trust me when I say there’s not a lot in this industry that surprises me. Sports is a dirty business at its core. The product is sometimes pretty but underneath it there are billions being made from exploited labour—for every pro athlete who makes millions there are thousands who mortgage their body and finances to walk away with nothing but memories. There is all kinds of ugliness in locker rooms and elsewhere that is only now even beginning to come to light. There is bullying, and substance abuse, and sexual harassment and racism and worse at all levels of basically every major men’s league. If you’ve read this far you don’t need me to tell you any of this, so excuse the preamble.

And I understand all that and still watch the games. Shit I am pumped to watch the NFL draft tonight! They got me.

But the one sports thing that has always eluded my understanding is why arenas are still publicly financed. Especially in places where teams are unreasonably popular, profitable and successful. Sometimes even all three!

For real, there are progressive politicians who support this funding, because they believe they have to or they’ll lose. But still, it amazes me. And it wasn’t always this way!

I will spare you the rabbit hole details, but a long time ago, if you owned a sports team and you wanted them to have a place to play where you could sell tickets, and merchandise and snacks and beer and make money … you had to buy that stadium! And pay for all of it!

But in the 50s, leagues and teams, claiming that a city profits from having a team in it, began to demand the city pay for part of any new stadium that was built. Or else what? Or else they’d leave and go to a city that did. And break fans’ hearts and kill the approval rating of local politicians. And—again, sparing you the details to get to the point—with very few exceptions, that has been the way the issue has been framed ever since: We’re making you money, so give us some or we go.

That framing has been disputed in economics studies, of course. And in, like, real human observation! Go look at some of the land around stadiums built with public money outside of cities like Washington DC or Ottawa. There’s nothing there but the stadium for miles around! There’s no associated revenue other than maybe some parking fees and a few jobs for ushers. And teams (OK, maybe Ottawa Senators aside) are generally more profitable than ever.

Right now there’s an election in Alberta and one of the issues will now be funding for a new stadium for the Calgary Flames. The conservative premiere has agreed to the deal and her NDP opponent says she would support it, too, with conditions.

This is a province that can’t keep enough OB-GYNs employed to deliver babies. They are planning to spend $330 million on a stadium.

We probably won’t cover this on the podcast because I am not allowed to say ‘fuck’, as in “What the fuck”, in the intro.

Somebody needs to call a fucking bluff here. The Calgary Flames are not leaving Calgary. For one, it’s hockey, there’s nowhere else more profitable they could go! You gonna take the NHL down to Kansas? Please. All the other large Canadian cities are spoken for, pretty much.

I refuse to believe there is no viable campaign message that says, “I love hockey and so do you. But these guys are ripping you off. How much did you pay for parking and beer at the last game you went to? Well, they want more of your money. By the way, how did the Flames do this year? What did you get for your money? Exactly. And if they want to leave, we’ll have another team here within two years, and there might be a doctor available to deliver your next child. Thank you and g’night.”

Anyway, it’ll never happen in Canada. They’ll bitch and moan, and pay. And I’ll never understand it.