Seattle basketball arena (Spokane, Bellevue: for sale, lawyers, construction)

[Botev1912]

Originally Posted by wutitiz

Re the bold--where do the 'funds generated by the arena' come from? They come from fans coming into the arena to spend their money on tickets, jerseys, $10 beers, etc. If the arena is not built, those people will find some other entertainment venue. They'll go to a restaurant, movie, strip club, etc. and spend it there. They won't bury the money in their back yards.

Then a portion of the money that they spent becomes tax revenue for city coffers. If the arena is built, that money goes instead to pay off the bond. So you're losing tax revenue, which means the city must either a) cut services or b) raise taxes on Joe and Jane Q public.

you are a helpless case. If you don't want to pay any taxes, go to some island and live isolated from everything. You won't have pay for roads, bridges and stadiums there.

[wutitiz]

Originally Posted by Botev1912

you are a helpless case. If you don't want to pay any taxes, go to some island and live isolated from everything. You won't have pay for roads, bridges and stadiums there.

Oh sure, now we get to the name-calling. Along with the making up of stuff and shoving it into the opposition's mouth. I never said I didn't want to pay any taxes, nor would I say such a thing.

I don't want to pay taxes to build a workspace for billionaire pro sports owners to house millionaire players. And most people in this region agree with me. Remember that when the Mariner's stadium was put to a vote, voters turned it down. When the tax-funded Seahawks stadium was proposed, it was overwhelmingly opposed, and only passed by 51% after Paul Allen spent $5 million on an ad campaign, with virtually zero funding from the opposition.

[BaconBurgerTaco10]

I just want hockey. Badly. But, luckily Canucks prices are way down so I can make a few games this season!

[DevanXL]

Originally Posted by BellevueNative

Arenas and sports teams are good for community quality of life. They also bring good PR to the city, which bolsters our position in business and otherwise. Ask Gonzaga how its basketball success has impacted admissions (and academics) for the university. These things may seem small, but they can really enhance a place quite a bit.

This is what ive thought as well. Opposed to Football and Baseball Stadiums, Arenas havean ability to be in use for majority of the year. From NBA to NHL, some college games, concerts, specialty events, arenas profit alot faster then huge outdoor stadiums. I actually think Tacoma needs a new area. Tacoma Dome is dated, bulky, and is some ways sketchy. Yes it's great for High School Sports championships but besides that, its just too out of date. I think the Tacoma Dome needs to go down. I new arena needs to be built on a property closer to the city center (There is an old railyard property I think would make perfect sense). Needs to have a modern design, with multipurpose capability, and 15,000+ capacity. Bring more foot traffic into the downtown area, more restaurants, better nightlife, and now can turn a quiet downtown into somewhat of a destination to be in the coming years.

Originally Posted by wutitiz

This is obviously true to some extent. But it's true of other businesses, too. If there's a tremendously popular restaurant in a neighborhood, surrounding businesses will benefit from increased customer traffic. But we don't subsidize great restaurants.

Profile notwithstanding, I'm not really an economist. However, from what I'm told every independent economic study on the stadiums have found them to be a bad deal for taxpayers. The only studies to have found otherwise are those paid for by team owners.
Why Do Mayors Love Sports Stadiums? | The Nation

Location for stadiums make the biggest impact, it also matters if the intended tenants can enough of in impact the justify the cost. I think if an arena is in a central location and can help change in area then in the long run its justified.

[wutitiz]

Originally Posted by DevanXL

Location for stadiums make the biggest impact, it also matters if the intended tenants can enough of in impact the justify the cost. I think if an arena is in a central location and can help change in area then in the long run its justified.

Any new business is going to have an impact on the surrounding area. Again, if a great restaurant moves into a neighborhood, nearby convenience stores, flower shops, and gas station are all going to benefit from increased customer traffic. The same goes for a pool hall, strip club, gym, or marijuana retailer. Do we need to provide tax dollars to build all of those too?

[CrazyDonkey]

I'd say that Seattle has a history of supporting well-funded winning franchises, but not underfunded losing franchises. Some owners are looking to leech off the tax payers, in order to maximize their return from a resale. Regardless, a Seattle franchise is going to have a hard time competing with big-market teams for revenues and payrolls.

[DevanXL]

Originally Posted by CrazyDonkey

Regardless, a Seattle franchise is going to have a hard time competing with big-market teams for revenues and payrolls.

How do you conclude that?

[Botev1912]

Originally Posted by CrazyDonkey

Regardless, a Seattle franchise is going to have a hard time competing with big-market teams for revenues and payrolls.

Seattle is one of the biggest markets - much bigger than Sacramento, Milwaukee, Oklahoma, Portland and 70% of all NBA teams.

[DevanXL]

Originally Posted by Botev1912

Seattle is one of the biggest markets - much bigger than Sacramento, Milwaukee, Oklahoma, Portland and 70% of all NBA teams.

I'm aware of that, but you stated they will have a hard time competing is what i'm wondering about.

[wutitiz]

Seattle ranks about 13 or so in terms of media markets. I would have guessed that we moved up a notch or 2, but it appears that we haven't.

There are 30 NBA teams. The NBA is missing out by not having a team here. We should squeeze them, not the other way around, for the privilege of bringing back a team here. Let them not only pay for their own stadium, but pay us a fee for the right to have a team here.

If they don't like it then they can go found a team in Las Vegas, Harrisburg, PA, or Birmingham, AL. Those are the next three biggest markets after OKC.