There is an awful lot of talk of the tangled web woven between those four forces of evil. Here's one of more interesting reads lately.

www.freakonomics.com/2012/03/13/how-the-...99t-like-basketball/

I've struggled mightily with opposing the notion of tax-payer funded team amenities and my selfish desire to watch the Vikings and Timberpuppies in MN only. the two are at odds. Life's a bitch and then you die.

The system is broken. In this economic climate, it's downright ludicrous for taxpayers to be paying for these stadiums and arenas. The whole idea of public money going to a private business is insulting to begin with.

The Vikings stadium thing is really pissing me off. Most taxpayers in MN either are not football fans or will never attend a game, yet are supposed to pay for this ridiculous $1 billion stadium. It's a terrible deal and 70% of Minnesotans don't want to use taxpayer money, yet Ziggy has paid off enough people at the capitol that it won't die. The state of MN owes $3 billion to the education system, yet here we are trying our hardest to get ripped off by a New Jersey snake oil salesman. Every economic study ever made has shown that stadiums are a terrible investment, thus why owners don't want to pay for them and private businesses want nothing to do with it either.

I don't see why the Wilfs and the NFL shouldn't be tried for extortion. Last I checked it was still a felony and that's exactly what they're doing.

Good comment RH, Howl to you.

Good article as well Daddy. I had read it in March when it was written.

I don't really know anymore, personally. I think I'm to the point that if these rich, greedy-ass Owners (thanks for nothing NBA lockout!) want their own new stadiums or arenas, then they need to pay for them themselves. They shouldn't get them for (basically) free, and then get all/most of the profits from them as well. It's just not right, as RH alluded to.

So yeah, I would HATE to lose the Vikings. My favorite team in my favorite sport. But if that happened because we wouldn't pay their extortion for a new stadium... then so be it.

There are more important things in life.

Great points by all of you, and good article. If I wasn't a sports fan I would probably think public funding for stadiums was preposterous. Even being a sports fan and a political liberal, it is still difficult to justify spending public taxes to create these monstorous stadiums that are then in fact owned by wealthy, capitalist owners. It is a difficult conundrum. What is the solution?

The NFL made $9 billion last year, I think the solution is simple. They build their own stadiums.

roundhouse wrote: Yeah you know what... that seems like a pretty dang good solution to me as well.

The NFL could give out super low interest loans to the owners that wanted to build new stadiums. And then the owners could own the new stadiums and get all the profit from them. Then they'd have nothing to complain about whatsoever.

But they are greedy and want the public to pay for them while STILL getting as much profit as possible from the new stadiums. Just absurd.