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They Can Always Use The Ballpark For... Um... Well...
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You've been warned but you don't listen. You think that stadium or arena construction is a good deal for your town, because it "attracts development," and you gladly support the local town leaders handing over tax money (or tax breaks, or bond issues) to build the facilities for rich people who can afford it themselves but don't want to spend their own money. And things look good at first, but, inevitably, they come back demanding more money or they'll move. Or, as in the case of the independent minor league baseball Kansas City T-Bones, when attendance declines and they start to be unable to pay their bills, the county bails them out by buying the ballpark and leasing it back to them at a sweetheart rate and using tax money to pay some overdue bills, because, after all, you don't want the team to move or fold. And now, even with the sweetheart deals, the team's under threat of being evicted for non-payment of rent and utilities. Guess who gets stuck with the unpaid bills AND a ballpark with no tenant and no prospect of finding one ever again? Congratulations, taxpayers. (Kansas City Star)
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