Shadow of Stadium

Helping people understand the business part of Tampa-area #SportBiz stuff since 2009. Spotted in the Forbes #SportsMoney50 list a few times.

[Shadow of Stadium @StadiumShadow]

No idea why you’d trust me.

I’m just a guy who:
- worked in pro sports
- covered the biz of sports
- exposed corporate fraud
- busted bad politicians
- has no financial interest in a new Rays stadium
- will never get free luxury box tickets to a new stadium.

[Tampa Bay Business Journal @TBBJnewsroom]

The Rays pushed for an August vote to get shovels in the ground by September, but there's little visible work at the Tampa site. https://t.co/rjv6SekW5Z

[Field of Schemes @fieldofschemes]

One Hillsborough resident testified on the Rays stadium bills: “Amendment 3 makes projects like this even more important. [We] have to find ways to grow our economy and expand our tax base.” That's certainly an opinion too, even if a [citation needed] one! https://t.co/O318bTU5Z1

[Shadow of Stadium @StadiumShadow]

@EmptySeatsPics It ain’t about them.

[Shadow of Stadium @StadiumShadow]

@numericalguy I’m sorry, Orlando is not happening. Your county commission made it clear they didn’t want to go down that road.

[Shadow of Stadium @StadiumShadow]

LOL who could have seen this coming???

[Anthony Close ☀️ @AnthonyClose]

On Rays stadium deal, Hillsborough Commissioner says that if Amendment 3 ‘changes the financial projection in a meaningful way, we should take another look’ https://t.co/gID5O84Xsd

[Shadow of Stadium @StadiumShadow]

@jakelarsen We can agree to disagree about the fungibility of tax dollars.

[Shadow of Stadium @StadiumShadow]

It’s wild Hillsborough & Tampa rushed this $2B subsidy through without getting in writing the exact funding needed to rebuild Hillsborough College.

[Anthony Close ☀️ @AnthonyClose]

On Rays stadium deal, Hillsborough Commissioner says that if Amendment 3 ‘changes the financial projection in a meaningful way, we should take another look’ https://t.co/gID5O84Xsd

[Shadow of Stadium @StadiumShadow]

Random thought: Why can sports teams pledge to make more “forever customers” out of kids when it’s so taboo for other industries to do it?

Personally, I can tell you few things have caused me more grief & anguish over the years than my favorite sports teams.

[Shadow of Stadium @StadiumShadow]

Reminder that most relocation threats are completely empty, designed only to scare their fans in the municipality they want to stay.

[J.C. Bradbury @jc_bradbury]

The Bears have no intention of moving to Indiana, and the NFL may not even allow it. There is no reason for Illinois lawmakers to offer the team any subsidies to stay in Chicago. https://t.co/2wroPU2BCh

[Shadow of Stadium @StadiumShadow]

@shellscape I’d be shocked if Hillsborough doesn’t spend 100x more on roads than on cycle lanes and sidewalks.

If austerity isn’t coming for your stadium, it’s coming for your roads.

[Shadow of Stadium @StadiumShadow]

New Hillsborough commissioners will have to decide what vital services to cut after voters decided to slash Fla property taxes.

So naturally, Ken Hagan is racing to get $1B+ Rays subsidies secured next Tues, before they go toward things like cops or firefighters.

[Tampa Bay Times @TB_Times]

3 things to know from Hillsborough’s election results | Link in bio

[Shadow of Stadium @StadiumShadow]

@shellscape You live in the deadliest part of the country for pedestrians and cyclists.

Not much more cutting you can do there.

[Shadow of Stadium @StadiumShadow]

@fieldofschemes

[Shadow of Stadium @StadiumShadow]

This is why teams prefer to swing politicians - and bypass voters.

[Dallas Morning News @dallasnews]

Plano voters rejected financing for the Dallas Stars arena Tuesday, a setback for the project’s funding but not a fatal blow to the hockey team’s plans to move to the suburb. https://t.co/5n66Tm4a3S

[Shadow of Stadium @StadiumShadow]

Soooo, how are your budget projections looking this morning, Hillsborough Co?

[Shadow of Stadium @StadiumShadow]

🚨3🚨The Rays get financial protections in case Fla voters roll back property taxes this fall.

A "held harmless" provision means they can't be impacted by tax shortfalls elsewhere. But the county can.

More risk for taxpayers.

[Shadow of Stadium @StadiumShadow]

A council divided…but not on this one thing: “The city's decades-long financial relationship with the team has been a bad deal for taxpayers.”

[J.C. Bradbury @jc_bradbury]

Browns owner Jimmy Haslam has a net worth of $12 billion from wealth he inherited. How about spend $1 million on upkeep of the taxpayer gift that you tossed aside for an even bigger government handout? Seriously, what an asshole. https://t.co/D7R22qnY8S

[Shadow of Stadium @StadiumShadow]

Hey, if two stadiums there didn’t grow anything…maybe a third will!

[Bull Matrix @RPDALY76]

@StadiumShadow @TheGhostofVince Hey all. I’m tailgating for the USF game at RJS. This area will grow eventually

[Shadow of Stadium @StadiumShadow]

@RPDALY76 @TheGhostofVince Sports venues are just not great catalysts for economic growth.

The ROI is poor, and they concentrate the benefits among a tiny group of private individuals/corporations.

[Shadow of Stadium @StadiumShadow]

@TheGhostofVince @RPDALY76 @FergsSportsBar Exactly. If you wanted to develop Drew Park well, you could do it for way less than $2 billion.

[Shadow of Stadium @StadiumShadow]

@RPDALY76 @TheGhostofVince @FergsSportsBar Neither of those “successes” are anywhere close to $8B in development.

Hillsborough was taken for a ride by inflated promises.