The Daily Plunge

Last summer I covered proposed move of the Boston Red Sox spring training facility to Sarasota. Ultimately the Red Sox were able to squeeze more money out of the city of Fort Myers. The Cincinnati Reds played their final season in Florida earlier this year so Sarasota was looking at having no spring training team in 2010. Last week the city of Sarasota, the county, and the Baltimore Orioles agreed on terms to move the Orioles from Fort Lauderdale.
The elected leadership of Sarasota County and the city of Sarasota is patting themselves on the back for a job well down. Meanwhile the taxpayers have to subsidize a $30 million project. In today’s Sarasota Herald Tribune Kevin Reichard, publisher of Ballpark Digest says he believes the Ed Smith stadium renovation will cost $40 million. This is hardly shocking to anyone who is knowledgeable about these kind of subsidized projects. The Heartland Institute has an article about a recent study by the National Taxpayers Union Foundation. It turns out these projects always cost more than initially believed.

A 2007 study by the National Taxpayers Union Foundation found heavily subsidized stadium projects were significantly more expensive on average than largely privately funded projects. The study found stadiums where taxpayers bore a majority of the cost were $65 million more expensive on average than those for which private entities paid the bulk of the tab.
While private financiers have every reason to scrutinize costs closely, “Government bureaucrats … are often more concerned with reelection prospects and PR plaudits than with cost containment,” the study notes.
In addition, the study found the average taxpayer subsidy per stadium is on the rise and shows no signs of slowing. The amount taxpayers paid for each facility rose 41 percent in just the eight years leading up to 2004.

The main argument for the agreement with the Orioles was the fact that it was going to be paid for in part by a tourist tax. Who pays for the shortfall? Here’s a hint; it won’t be the Baltimore Orioles.