Yet Another Outrage: CIB To Spend $2 Million For Luxury Suites And Ribbon Board That Only Benefits Jim Irsay

The IBJ is reporting that the Capital Improvement Board is set to approve today a $2 million expenditure to build new suites and advertising ribbon boards for Lucas Oil Stadium, which the billionaire owner of the Indianapolis Colts Jim Irsay gets to use exclusively for his for-profit NFL franchise. Irsay will only pay the costs that exceed $2 million. Who cares about the affordable seating the fans will lose to make way for the corporate suites that will drive more revenues to Irsay? This is just another example of an out-of-control, unaccountable municipal corporation delivering another middle finger to the taxpayers. The CIB is totally beholden to the billionaire sports team owners. Unless you are in the pocket of them, you are barred from serving on the CIB.

Irsay demanded that the CIB build him a new stadium or else he would move his team to another city. The state of Indiana and the City of Indianapolis obliged him by building the $750 million stadium funded through higher taxes that he gets to use rent-free, doesn't pay one dime of the expenses to maintain and from which he retains all the revenues, at the same time the CIB imploded the inadequate RCA Dome taxpayers had built through higher taxes only 20 years earlier upon which most of the debt originally incurred to build it remained outstanding. These CIB members don't represent the public; they only represent the billionaire sports team owners. Until the public starts demanding public accountability from these out-of-control municipal corporations, you are going to continue to see the public fleeced over and over again in this manner. We don't have the money we need to finance basic city services, but we can hand out money by the tens of millions of dollars to these greedy bastards who don't even reside in our city or pay taxes here.

UPDATE: The only member who voted against yet another tax giveaway by the CIB was CCC President Maggie Lewis, the only elected official who sits on the board.

The lone vote of dissent on the nine-member board belonged to City-County Council President Maggie Lewis. There was one abstention and one absence.

"It's not against the Colts; I just needed more details," Lewis said.

It should be pointed, however, that Lewis, along with a majority of her fellow council members, voted earlier this year to allow the CIB to levy higher taxes on ticketed admissions and car rentals. The CIB couched the taxpayer giveaway as a settlement of an ongoing dispute between the CIB and the Colts over concession costs at Lucas Oil Stadium. Every member of the CIB receives free tickets to every game. It's amazing how cheaply people's votes can be bought.