Problem with Subsidizing Stadiums for Billionaires: Sports, Politics & Greed

As Orange County and the City of Orlando continue their discussions on building another stadium downtown, local leaders seem to ignore any real facts and figures on the matter. Instead, Mayor Teresa Jacobs and Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer stand ready to give away millions of dollars while committing to long-term expenses the city can’t afford.

Bill Moyers and “Moyers & company” recently tackled the problem with subsidizing huge stadiums for billionaire owners in a must-see interview. The clip is less than 3 minutes and definitely worth the time.

Summary of the piece: Americans are paying for expensive new sports stadiums in cities around the country to the benefit of wealthy team owners, who lobby hard for their construction. Here in Orlando, the rich and connected are influencing Teresa Jacobs and the Board of County Commissioners to give them a handout for another stadium we do not need.

Dave Zirin, The Nation magazine’s first ever sports writer, joins Bill Moyers on the Moyers & Company for the discussion and really puts the issue into perspective. He’s been called the best sportswriter in the United States, a provocative reporter and social critic whose books include Bad Sports: How Owners are Ruining the Games We Love, and his most, recent, Game Over: How Politics has Turned the Sports World Upside Down.

The full interview can be found here — and it is also very interesting and enlightening.