See
Study: San Antonio Spurs netted $41 million in federal subsidies for AT&T Center construction: Public makes up for taxes not paid on arena bond interest. By Joshua Fechter of
The San Antonio Express-News, September 8, 2016. Excerpts:
"The Spurs received $41 million in federal subsidies to build the
AT&T Center with little economic gain for the community due to a
quirk in federal tax law, a Brookings Institution study released Thursday shows.
U.S. taxpayers have effectively paid about $3.2 billion
to finance the construction of 35 major league sports arenas since 2000,
the study says. That’s because the interest earned on municipal bonds
issued to finance stadium or arena building is exempt from federal
taxes, thus generating the subsidy.
That amount rises to $3.7 billion when windfall tax breaks for high-income bondholders are taken into account, the study shows.
About $169 million in tax-exempt municipal bonds were issued to
construct the county-owned AT&T Center, which originally opened in
2002 as the SBC Center, essentially giving the Spurs a $41 million
federal tax subsidy, the study says. The arena’s total price was $245
million for construction costs as well as parking and infrastructure
improvements, it adds.
Bondholders received $3 million in tax breaks on municipal bonds,
costing taxpayers $44 million in lost federal tax revenue, the study
shows.
“The justifications for public funding for stadiums are weak, and the
justifications for federal government subsidies are even weaker because
to the extent the projects confer any benefits, those benefits are
local, not national,” the study says.
Spurs Sports & Entertainment officials declined to comment for this report.
Local governments often offer incentives to sports franchises to lure
or keep them from moving to another city including bonds, cash
payments, tax abatements, infrastructure improvements or coverage of
operating costs, leaving teams with only a percentage of costs stemming
from stadium or arena costs.
The Spurs shelled out $46.5 million to build the AT&T Center — about 24 percent of the $193 million in total construction costs — and $26 million to cover $111 million worth of improvements to the arena in 2014, including a scoreboard, digital screens, Wi-Fi upgrades and seating improvements among other things."
"multiple studies show major private sports stadiums don’t ultimately
produce substantial economic growth relative to the government
incentives they receive"
Here is a related story about San Antonio sports:
Triple-A baseball falling off back burner: Mayor can’t get financial commitments
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