Times are tough for the billionaire Simons. Their poor Pacers team has cost the family $200 million in losses over the past decade, or so they say--almost as much as taxpayers spent to construct the Conseco Fieldhouse the franchise just had to have in order to remain competitive in the NBA. Although the team pays no rent to use the Fieldhouse and gets to keep all of the revenues from game and non-game events held at the venue, Mayor Greg Ballard and his Capital Improvement Board made the determination we needed to help the struggling franchise out with another $33.5 million in taxpayer subsidies over the next three years.
Today, the CIB announced it was purchasing a $1.6 million ribbon scoreboard just like the one Jim Irsay's Colts have at Lucas Oil Stadium. Rick Fuson of Pacers Sports & Entertainment boasted the new ribbon board would allow the team to earn additional revenues from scrolling advertisements. Our public schools suck, our parks department keeps closing public pools and our library board is struggling to find sufficient revenues to avoid closing libraries, but as long as the sports teams have all that their hearts desire we'll be a world class city so goes the meme. It's worth noting the Indianapolis Indians minor league baseball franchise purchased their own digital score board this past year as a way of generating additional advertising revenues for the team, which turns a profit year after year without taxpayer subsidies.
You have got to be kidding.
ReplyDeleteSo....WE, the taxpayers pay $1.6MILLION for a scoreboard that THEY will use to MAKE REVENUE FROM???!!!
ReplyDeleteWHAT A GREAT COUNTRY!!!
The mayor and the self-serving creeps that surround him should learn that a good business deal involves the winning of multiple parties, not just the same side all the time.
ReplyDeleteEvery single time, the taxpayers get the short stick.
I just want to live in an honest city. Is that asking too much?
Honestly, if Daley Sr.'s Chicago, Huey Long's Louisiana, or Pendergast(sp?) in KC were much worse than this- will somebody please reiterate that to me?
ReplyDeleteI voted for Mayor Ballard; sent him $20 for the campaign. I sincerely thank him for his service to our armed forces. But, will somebody explain to me how he's not either corrupt, delusional, or blackmailed?
One more time: our abysmal IPS graduation rate was worst in the nation country a few months ago, police need retraining and are strapped to keep helicopter/motorcycle/horse patrols, libraries reducing hours, one of the worst bus systems for a city our size in the country, parks department constantly reducing budget, in the top dozen for needing abandoned housing torn down, millions needed in sewer rennovations.....
And, we have to buy a 1.6M scoreboard for the billionaire Simons, when the considerably-less- than-billionaire ownership of the Indians bought their own scoreboard?