I don't have a problem with it under certain circumstances. For me to get behind public funds for a stadium, the public funds themselves would have to be an investment where the government paying for it gets back more than just tax revenue, it would have to be open for public use when not being used by whatever teams it was built for, and any team owners would have to foot all or part of the bill for the infrastructure that gets people, power, and sanitation to the stadium.
Farnhamia wrote:NeoOasis wrote:Okay, well, you explain to the mob of fans with torches and pitchforks that gathered at City Hall when their beloved Mudskippers move to Toledo.
I actually think that would actually end up being great for someone's political career in the long run, and may not be as unpopular as you think. My town is filled with semi-retarded, obese boomers who cling to these loser teams as if they're ever going to see a Stanley Cup or Superbowl win in their lifetimes. The team owners demand something new from the town and of course, the town gives in to their demands while ignoring our dreadful schools and roads. When someone suggests telling them to fuck off, you hear the chorus of "you can't offend the team owners, they'll move and that will be the end of someone's political career", and always from some fat old person who probably hasn't been for a run in decades.
You'd probably lose the demographic of fat old people, but anyone under the age of 50 with a BMI of under 30 is not going to base their vote on whether (insert team that hasn't even made the playoffs in years) is still in town. If timed right in your political career, standing up to the team owners, even if it makes you hated locally, could make you "the one with principles who chose local schools and roads over another stadium" and you find yourself in a good position to move from local to state politics. This may assume you have a significant portion of your state outside your team's territory where any rabid sports fans can say "it wasn't our team that moved" and/or you have enough people at home who don't care to push you over the edge.