Chicago Cubs going for a Grand Rip-off

The owners of the Chicago Cubs baseball team want a $300 million upgrade of their ballpark. They also want Illinois taxpayers to pay for it.

According to the Chicago Tribune (Nov. 12, 2010):

“The owner of the Chicago Cubs will ask the state to borrow up to $300 million in a bond offering to make extensive renovations at Wrigley Field that would ensure the team can play at the historic ballpark for another 50 years.”

QUESTION:  Why is a privately owned, profit-making business asking the state for money?

A BETTER QUESTION:  And why is the state even considering such a proposal?

My Proposal: The Feds should pass a law barring states from offering incentives to professional sports teams, a practice which encourages relocation. If a team wants to call (for example) Chicago, Illinois home, it should build and maintain the necessary infrastructure. This is done by digging into their own pockets or borrowing the money by (themselves) signing a loan form. To cover all bases, though, this same law should place a cap on the rate at which states can tax sports franchises within their borders.

Let’s do the math

Actually, let’s not do the math. The non-mathematical truths are painful enough to behold. Money will be raised by the state selling these bonds, which will have to be repaid – with interest. Since the state would be putting its credit rating on the line, the enabling legislation would have to contain provisions to prevent default. Such provisions would force taxpayers to make up the difference if all didn’t go according to plan. For instance* - "The Cubs' owner… is seeking a safety net in case the amusement tax does not cover the bond payments. Ricketts [the team’s owner] would like the bonds to be backed by revenue streams that are assigned to the facilities authority [a state agency], including a 2 percent hotel tax.”

For one thing, the money collected from the amusement tax should be allocated by our state legislators to meet the needs of our citizens – not to cover expenses which benefit a private corporation. Same with the “revenue streams that are assigned to the facilities authority.”

Consider*: “If the legislation is passed, Ricketts and his family have promised to invest about $200 million in redeveloping the Lakeview neighborhood outside the stadium…” My translation of this statement: “If the state borrows $300 million to benefit my private company, that frees up $200 million of my money for me to indulge in potentially very profitable real estate speculation – which happens to be in the neighborhood of my stadium.” [I wonder if this promise to “invest about $200 million” will be a written promise with seizure of assets a consequence of non-performance. Will such a written promise be a condition for passing this legislation? Nothing in the news reports answers these questions.]

How crass! And this man has the balls to claim*: “The state has no credit risk here…no one is losing anything. It’s not a new tax, and it’s not increasing taxes.”

No credit risk? Any time bonds are floated, there’s a “credit risk.” Who’s this guy kidding? And to minimize that risk, the taxpayer will be tapped to protect the investment of the bondholders. Translation? Taxes will be raised or money will be borrowed.

A Better Idea

Maybe Ricketts should offer a different pitch (which is fitting for the owner of a baseball team): “Give me $300 million, but it won’t be used to rehab the ballpark. Instead, we will use the money to buy the best ballplayers on the market so the Cubs will have a real chance of winning the World Series. And keep winning it, year after year.”

How about that? For my entire life (of 59 years), my hometown Chicago Cubs have personified mediocre baseball. They are the perfect .500 ball club. Yes, I’ve gone to some of their games, but only because a relative got me in for free. Cubs ballpark (known as Wrigley Field) is a beautiful throwback to a bygone era – a nice way to spend a summer day, blessedly exposed to the elements. Maybe the shock of winning the big one would be too much for Chicago’s ever loyal, diehard fans. A bigger shock would be to see Cubs owners step up to the plate and take personal responsibility for their team’s destiny. But…this is Illinois – one of the most corrupt states in the union – and taking personal responsibility is not expected.

Steven Searle for US President in 2012

“I fully expect that, somehow or other, the people of Illinois will be sucked into this scam.”

 * All quoted material comes from the Chicago Tribune's November 12, 2010 edition.