by Tom Joyce
OPINION
| February 13, 2022
Super Bowl 56 will take place in a state-of-the-art facility on Sunday.
More specifically, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. It's the most expensive stadium in NFL history, costing $5 billion to construct. It also serves as a great example of why taxpayer-funded stadiums for professional sports teams are unnecessary.
A privately funded venue owned by Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, SoFi Stadium didn’t require $700 million in public funding, as was the case with the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Georgia, which hosted the Super Bowl in 2019. People want to own NFL teams in the Los Angeles area so that they can make a lot of money. They’re taking a risk, making an investment, and hoping it will increase their own wealth. It’s a far better system than passing the bill to working people.
So how did Kroenke Sports & Entertainment do it?
Well, one major cost-cutting measure is that two teams share the venue. That would be the Los Angeles Rams, which call the venue home. Additionally, the venue is leased to the Los Angeles Chargers for their home games.
Not every NFL market has a large enough population to support two teams, but sharing a venue in Los Angeles County is efficient: More than 10 million people live in the county, so there is enough room for both teams to exist. Having more tenants outside of football season could help cut costs even further.
SoFi is also paying $625 million for a 20-year naming rights deal. That’s a smart way to help offset the costs. Plus, both teams offer personal seat licenses, meaning that fans can pay a fee in exchange for the rights to buy season tickets. The Rams ownership group also took out about $900 million in loans from the NFL to help pay for the stadium. And remember, all of this spending isn’t hurting the Rams on the field. They’re playing in the Super Bowl this year.
But while the Los Angeles Rams exemplify how privately financed stadiums can work, the St. Louis Rams showed why taxpayer-funded stadiums are a sham.
The Rams left Los Angeles for St. Louis in 1995 on the condition that the city would pay for the Trans World Dome (now known as The Dome at America’s Center). The Rams leased the venue for two decades but left it in 2015. They also left Missouri residents $144 million worth of debt — the stadium didn't pay for itself.
The Rams gave St. Louis a bad deal. Thankfully, they’re not doing the same to Inglewood. If they can fund SoFi Stadium, other teams should have no problem paying for less expensive venues.
Tom Joyce (@TomJoyceSports) is a political reporter for the New Boston Post in Massachusetts. He is also a freelance writer who has been published in USA Today, the Boston Globe, Newsday, ESPN, the Detroit Free Press, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Federalist, and a number of other outlets.
| February 13, 2022
Super Bowl 56 will take place in a state-of-the-art facility on Sunday.
More specifically, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. It's the most expensive stadium in NFL history, costing $5 billion to construct. It also serves as a great example of why taxpayer-funded stadiums for professional sports teams are unnecessary.
A privately funded venue owned by Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, SoFi Stadium didn’t require $700 million in public funding, as was the case with the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Georgia, which hosted the Super Bowl in 2019. People want to own NFL teams in the Los Angeles area so that they can make a lot of money. They’re taking a risk, making an investment, and hoping it will increase their own wealth. It’s a far better system than passing the bill to working people.
So how did Kroenke Sports & Entertainment do it?
Well, one major cost-cutting measure is that two teams share the venue. That would be the Los Angeles Rams, which call the venue home. Additionally, the venue is leased to the Los Angeles Chargers for their home games.
Not every NFL market has a large enough population to support two teams, but sharing a venue in Los Angeles County is efficient: More than 10 million people live in the county, so there is enough room for both teams to exist. Having more tenants outside of football season could help cut costs even further.
SoFi is also paying $625 million for a 20-year naming rights deal. That’s a smart way to help offset the costs. Plus, both teams offer personal seat licenses, meaning that fans can pay a fee in exchange for the rights to buy season tickets. The Rams ownership group also took out about $900 million in loans from the NFL to help pay for the stadium. And remember, all of this spending isn’t hurting the Rams on the field. They’re playing in the Super Bowl this year.
But while the Los Angeles Rams exemplify how privately financed stadiums can work, the St. Louis Rams showed why taxpayer-funded stadiums are a sham.
The Rams left Los Angeles for St. Louis in 1995 on the condition that the city would pay for the Trans World Dome (now known as The Dome at America’s Center). The Rams leased the venue for two decades but left it in 2015. They also left Missouri residents $144 million worth of debt — the stadium didn't pay for itself.
The Rams gave St. Louis a bad deal. Thankfully, they’re not doing the same to Inglewood. If they can fund SoFi Stadium, other teams should have no problem paying for less expensive venues.
Tom Joyce (@TomJoyceSports) is a political reporter for the New Boston Post in Massachusetts. He is also a freelance writer who has been published in USA Today, the Boston Globe, Newsday, ESPN, the Detroit Free Press, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Federalist, and a number of other outlets.
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