Chicago Bears, a club owned by billionaires that turns an annual profit of around $200m, is seeking taxpayer funding of $2bn from cash-strapped city authorities to fund its new stadium
A club owned by billionaires that turns an annual profit of around $200m is seeking taxpayer funding of $2bn from cash-strapped city authorities to fund its new stadiumSoldier Field in Chicago: The Chicago Bears plan to replace their old stadium by building a new 77,000-seater one on the shores of Lake Michigan. Photograph: John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
Despite her age, Halas McCaskey is still listed as secretary of the club and boasts an estimated personal net worth of $2.3bn. That’s roughly the same amount the Bears are currently asking local taxpayers to contribute towards building a new 77,000-seater domed stadium on the waterfront of Lake Michigan. The sheer gall of it is impressive.
An outfit in rude financial health has reached two Super Bowls in its history yet somehow reckons itself worthy of high-end corporate welfare on this grand scale. These tiresome dramas are playing out all over the country right now. The Oakland A’s baseball team are relocating from California to Nevada because Las Vegas is giving them $380m towards building a new home. Not to mention throwing in a ridiculous guarantee the club can leave the Strip if any tax is ever imposed on it by the city. A nice little arrangement.
The Bills are owned by Terry and Kim Pegula, a couple worth nearly $7bn. Much of that fortune made from natural gas and fracking. All they had to do to access such epic funding was cast flirtatious glances at Toronto, the Canadian neighbour desperate to attract an NFL team. Economists who might not agree on much else universally acknowledge that underwriting a stadium with taxpayer funds is terrible policy and cite the fact not a single American city has ever recouped its investment in a facility for a sports franchise. Clubs on the make routinely wheel out dreaded consultants promising the initial public outlay will be dwarfed by the revenue generated by the big show. Never works out that way.
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