The Sports World, starting to feel the downturn in the Economy.

[Slimprofits]

Re: The Sports World, starting to feel the downturn in the Economy.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...d=ar_NNbL0pGa4

“Harris County-Houston Sports Authority, which built the Texas city’s 71,500-seat National Football League stadium, may need to refinance $1 billion in debt and pay as much as $142 million ahead of schedule on bonds and interest-rate swaps. The agency, operator of Reliant Stadium for the NFL’s Texans, must pay $117 million over the next five years after JPMorgan Chase & Co. demanded accelerated retirement of variable-rate bonds due in November 2030, said J. Kent Friedman, the authority chairman… The extra costs will push higher annual debt service by $20 million to at least $83.7 million in 2011 from $62.3 million this year.”

They signed a pact with the devil in order to bring the NFL back to Houston. By the way how is that working out?

2-3
8-8
8-8
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2-14
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5-11
4-12



which reminds me of this:

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/hocke...55071368_x.htm

Quebec City has announced its intention to build a new arena in the hopes of bringing back an NHL team and one day hosting the Winter Olympics.

Mayor Regis Labeaume said on Friday that he's hired engineering firm SNC Lavalin to conduct a feasibility study. He hopes to see the arena built from 2010 to 2012.

Labeaume expects the arena to cost $400 million, with the city contributing $50 million to the project. He wants the federal and provincial governments to each pony up $175 million under infrastructure programs.

I know it is the national sport, but what do regular Canadians think about subsidizing their professional teams? Or is this a nationalist thing about luring back a team that went broke in the U.S.?

[World Traveler]

Re: The Sports World, starting to feel the downturn in the Economy.

Houston has built 3 new stadiums in the last 10 years, baseball and football got their new stadiums, then the basketball franchise demanded a new facility and got one too. Ridiculous. I've been to all 3 old and all 3 new stadiums, and frankly, the old ones were adequate. The promise made to local citizens was that their taxes would not go up, that taxes on hotels and car rentals would pay for the bonds.

The Houston Chronicle also had a story on this a couple of days ago, and made the point that since revenue from those taxes are down and banks are demanding higher interest payments, the money has to come from somewhere, since Harris County-Houston are ultimately responsible, and that local taxpayers might not be off the hook.

"...The authority overestimated income from taxes to cover debt, said Jack Rains, the agency’s first chairman from 1997 to 1999, who also served as Texas secretary of state.

“I’m deeply concerned about the financial stability of the sports authority and all its bonded indebtedness,” Rains said in a phone interview. “When you borrow for 30 years, you have to do prudent things, and they didn’t.”

The agency’s $142 million in unanticipated payments would be enough to improve about 20 miles of new toll roads in Harris County, based on the cost of the Sam Houston Tollway widening project that will add two lanes to a 2.4-mile (4-kilometer) stretch of the highway around the city by 2010..."

[BigBagel]

Re: The Sports World, starting to feel the downturn in the Economy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/17/op...17herbert.html

Bob Herbert column in the 10/17/09 NY Times on the expense of attending sporting events.

[GRG55]

Re: The Sports World, starting to feel the downturn in the Economy.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/hocke...55071368_x.htm



I know it is the national sport, but what do regular Canadians think about subsidizing their professional teams? Or is this a nationalist thing about luring back a team that went broke in the U.S.?

Professional sports leagues are now basically permanent charity cases. The team owners and athletes are able to raise their share of the take because irrreponsible local politicians [too many of them with ties to the property development industry] are never held accountable for their stupidity and corruption.

And the last time the Province of Quebec hosted the Olympics [Montreal in 1976] it was an absolute f'ing financial disaster...no reason to expect anything different on the replay...