Quote:
Originally Posted by calf
Doesn't that prove the point? An arena is a bad investment for both sides. The team can't make it work without "free" government money. The city can't make it work without some sort of return or payback on their investment. There's a reason people aren't investing in these things other than governments that have been "held hostage". They don't make much financial sense at all for both sides.
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Exactly.
Arenas are a bad investment. That's why we should make sure much of the load is carried by average citizens rather than the billionaires who could buy them outright without any meaningful diminishing of their almost inexhaustible wealth.
That's a terrible argument. Especially when you consider that most of those citizens will never use the new facility.
I've been reading a lot lately about the Roman Empire, another era when a small number of extraordinarily rich owned much of the wealth of the world. And you know who built the remarkable public facilities that still stand today - the colosseums, public baths, and forums? Those incredibly rich individuals. Paid for them outright, in exchange for the prestige of being famed patrons of their city.