The Great Stadium Debate – No thanks, save my money

It feels odd even fixing my hands to type this post.  Growing up–actually well into my early 30s–you could not have convinced me there was any reason not to build my Chargers a Taj Mahal.  But if we’re going to have an actual craft beer debate, we need two sides, right?  And I’ve come to learn there are some pretty decent ideas on the dark side as well.  So before we get to September 12th and start mixing quality craft beer with some healthy back and forth, I thought I should put up some useful information from the “not my tax dollars” crowd.  Here goes…

That intro sounded way too negative.  When you strip away the emotional attachment to the powder blues, tailgating and all things bolt, there are some reasonable opinions against publicly financing a stadium.  Here are a few samples (note: none of these authors have taken an official position on the stadium, as far as I know, so this is NOT meant to suggest they hold a specific view).

Here’s a pretty detailed 2008 article on paying for stadiums – by Pete Toms

There’s this one about giving the public part ownership like the Packers (and why it can’t happen) – by Scott Lewis of Voice of San Diego

Minnesota anti-tax coalition in 2012 rejecting public funding here –  by Kevin Duchsere of the Star Tribune

This article from 2010 says the public would pay half the cost – by Matthew Hall of UT-San Diego

Finally, there is a good deal of research on Field of Schemes

The goal of this debate isn’t to convince you to change your mind, it’s to get a bit more information while having some fun, trying local craft beer and then hopefully sharing this with some friends.  This is our city and the more people who know enough to make an informed choice the better off we’ll be. To sign up for the debate click here.  Cheers!