WELFARE HANDOUTS TO MILLIONAIRES

WELFARE HANDOUTS TO MILLIONAIRES

(FRAZER CHRONICLE)

(All the News That Nobody Else Will Print)

 

In an article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel penned by Tom Daykin, there seems to be action afoot to entice the taxpayers of Franklin, Wisconsin, a suburb 10 miles south of Milwaukee, to erect a $10.5 million dollar baseball stadium for use by a Franklin team in the independent Frontier League. The stadium would be built in an existing sports complex, called the Rock on property owned by a private individual who would also own the minor league team.

The proposal and funding would need Common Council and/or Redevelopment Authority approval, the city Mayor said Monday, March 24, 2014. The owner hopes to get a prompt response and begin groundbreaking this spring so the stadium would be ready for occupancy for the 2015 playing season. The Plan Commission has unanimously approved the stadium’s design, and the financing proposal will get separate consideration, including city task force review at the March 25 meeting.

Now everybody knows that I’m a baseball freak, or at least by now you should, baseball is by far the greatest game ever invented by man. But I kind of get rubbed the wrong way whenever I read about a proposed sports stadium for a private business, a professional baseball team is a business, and it’s private, there aren’t too many publicly owned profession sports teams like the Green Bay Packers.

Whenever one of these proposals come down the pike, there’s always a hurry-up atmosphere connected with it…..the reasons are varied, and legitimate sounding…..but always in a giddy-up mode. In this case, I personally know the reasons for a quick decision, and understand the rush, but that none-the-less doesn’t pardon the quick decision atmosphere, this thing should have been on somebody’s agenda a long time ago…..like last fall.

The plans to start a minor league baseball club were announced in January…..2014, and the owner, who has already spent $10.5 million thus far to develop his sports complex, and also would provide $4 million as his initial investment for the new team. The $4 mill would cover acquisition franchise fees, league dues, and first year operating budget.

The existing Rock Sports Complex now encompasses a ski hill, six baseball fields, a patio with a bar and bicycle trails. I personally think that the new sporting complex is a good fit for the Franklin area, or for that matter, any city throughout the entire United States…..however!!!!!

WE ARE PAWNS IN THE CHESS GAME OF LIFE

If the city of Franklin, population 36,000, funds the new stadium, the annual debt payments would be $1.1 million over 20 year, a cost of 21.5 million. Lease payments from the new baseball team, and other team revenue sources, including possible city funds, could be used to make those debt payments, the report said.

The stadium would generate an estimated annual spending of $11.3 million, including $5.17 million on baseball tickets, meals, hotel rooms and other items by people attending games on other facility events, and $3 million spent by the baseball team on its operations.

The financial impact study also lists $1.63 million of indirect spending, referring to the spending by business for additional supplies and merchandise for the additional traffic that would be created by the ball teams games and other events at the facility.

Of course these figures are estimates…..pie in the sky stuff, based on other stadiums, in other cities, mostly owned by the communities that host these sports teams. As with any other proposed situation where a prospective owner comes before a city’s governing fathers with hat in hand, these guys (hat in hand) always paint a rosy picture, with KA-CHING visions in their eye…..hoping to impart the same image into the eyes of city’s authority.

There are gaudy attendance estimates, gaudy attendance for other sports related games, concerts, antique shows, flea markets, outdoor marriages, group outings…..and, well, the list can go on and on, but the bottom line is that there’ll be so much money flowing that people will be turned away at the gate because of another capacity attendance at some event.

Of course there’s always the last gasp attempt, when all else fails, the projected owner might part…..up front with his projected income, and give a city a percentage of the concessions, and parking revenues. This usually is the last carrot that is offered to a community, the final push to get approval.

Throughout the United States there are sporting facilities that have been erected with public funding that sit vacant for a part of every year. These taxpayer supported venues are publicly owned, yet the primary tenant has absolute autonomy on who uses the facility, for what, and when. Now I understand that a baseball team needs this ability during its season, but before, or after their season, the facility should be used because of where the revenue came from to construct it.

THE BAD ACTORS ARE TO NUMEROUS TO RECOUNT

Every single profession baseball season, in the low minors and independent leagues, there are teams that go defunct, sometimes during the season. It is how a franchise is available to the current people who want Franklin, Wisconsin to build them a new ball park. The original franchise in the Frontier League was based out of Pontiac, Michigan, the team, the Dream Cruisers never played a game in Pontiac, they moved to Ypsilanti, Michigan, and ended up in London, Ontario, Canada, where, in 2012 they went out of business during the month of July.

The fee for that franchise is about $800,000, or at least it was until last August when the owner had to let the team go back to the league. For the past couple of years, the Frontier League has operated with 13 franchised members, and the league operating another team for scheduling purposes. The league team, called the Grays, plays all of their games on the road and lives out of motels for the entire year. That is how the franchise became available to the Franklin group.

It is rare for professional sports teams to own their own playing facility; it’s the taxpayers who own every single chair-back seat, every shower head, toilet, water cooler, and urinal. Inevitably liability insurance, utility bills, and maintenance are left to the municipality where the stadium or arena are located…..the taxpayers are on the hook.

There is one final interesting fact that few authority figures think about whenever these sweetheart deals come down the road, what happens if, in 10 years the Franklin independent minor league team goes out of business, or actually in Franklin’s case an even worse event happens, the Rock recreation facility goes belly-up. The baseball team would probably soon follow, and then who would take care of the vacant property and the baseball stadium?

Today there are 30 Major League baseball clubs, and additional 160 minor league teams that are either owned by their major league (parent) club, or as in Franklin’s case, are independent, and pay for everything. You see, if a minor league baseball team is affiliated with let’s say the Milwaukee Brewers, like the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers up in Appleton, Wisconsin, the Brewers pick up equipment, managerial, coaches, travel, salaries, and insurance.

The Timber Rattlers pay for their liability insurance, their front office personal, upkeep of their ball park, advertising, marketing, and any incidental costs that may occur.  So right up front the cost to an independent team can be catastrophic…..is $4 million enough, these Rock people had better have all of their ducks aligned in a perfect row.

 

HAVE A NICE DAY!