I don't know about you, but I am sick and tired of the political drama of Real Salt Lake and its stupid soccer stadium. Clearly, Sandy's Mayor and representatives in the Legislature (especially the Speaker) miscalculated SLCo. Mayor Peter Corroon. Same with Dave Checketts. They all assumed that Corroon was a normal politican and would bow to their whim because they were "powerful" and "influential."
But Corroon decided that he needed to do what was in the best interest for the taxpayers of the County, and in his judgment, that was not selling the farm to rent a cow to milk. He wanted real hard numbers, and so did the County Council after Corroon led the way. And when those numbers finally came in, it was clear that they were about as forthright and reasonable in their assumptions as Enron's financial statements (or President Bush's Budgets). So Carroon and the Council said no dice.
And guess what? The voters love them for it. And the Speaker almost lost his seat last fall because of this chest-beating exercise.
It is good that someone finally stood up to professional sports teams when they ask cities to pay for their stadiums or threaten to leave. The economics behind such sweet-heart deals just isn't there. That's why Portland's voters said see-ya to the Trail-Blazers. Now the Speaker is going to punish the County while trying to punish Corroon by taking away the hotel tax money.
I would love to see how that turns out. But really, I don't want to hear another story about that soccer team. I am tired of it by now, aren't you?
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2 comments:
Love your headline. I was going to say "Yeah!" but then I realized that I rushed right over to read this when I saw it on bloghive, so I guess I'm not totally over RSL. I hope this is the end of it, but I dread our vengeful legislature. Over at Voice of Utah, we have publicly committed to help Greg Curtis' opponent with money, legwork, whatever it takes next time if Curtis goes after Corroon. If he tries something, we bloggers should flex our muscle and spread the word.
It is indeed quite tiresome. Ultimately Real Salt Lake and Dave Checketts in particular wanted a fancy new house for a team that has not proven itself. The Jazz had to play for a decade in the county-supported Salt Palace (not the most fancy venue, but it did in a pinch). Ultimately instead demanding a high-priced gown, RSL should have settled for every-day wear. SLC, of course, doesn't necessarily have any venue that would have fit them, but Rice Stadium (or whatever it is called now) seemed to have been working out just fine for the time being.
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