Sports Stadiums Not All They're Cracked Up To Be

Taxpayers in Miami-Dade county paying $20 million/year for underused-mothballed sports facilities

1 minute read

December 16, 2003, 2:00 PM PST

By Abhijeet Chavan @http://twitter.com/legalaidtech

"...the ballpark sits largely unused, derided as a 'pink elephant.'Taxpayers in the city, though, pony up half a million dollars every year to keep the elephant in re-sale condition -- its paint fresh, its field mowed -- as the city searches for a buyer.Homestead isn't the only community to succumb to the lure of the sports siren, promising prestige, jobs and tourists to cities that put up tax dollars for stadiums.Taxpayers in Miami-Dade County spend more than $20 million a year on operating subsidies and debt service for three sports facilities -- Homestead-Miami Speedway, AmericanAirlines Arena and the money-losing Miami Arena, long ago abandoned by the Miami Heat and the Florida Panthers."

Thanks to Richard Layman

FULL STORY: Some stadiums burden, not boon

Sunday, December 14, 2003 in The Miami Herald

Community / Economic Development Florida

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