There is almost universal outrage over the Miami Marlins trading away most of their veteran players only after one season in a brand new, state of the art public ball park.
The baseball team got a sweetheart new stadium. It got a 46% boost in attendance in 2012. More revenue. Big market dreams. All which imploded by mid-season.
Then the owner dumps $185 million in salaries of high priced veterans. By the end of next year, the Marlins will have no guaranteed contracts on their books.
It is not the first time owner Jeff Loria ruined a franchise. He killed the Montreal Expos,which led to the league taking over the team and moving it to Washington D.C. But Loria was rewarded by the league with a new Florida franchise.
Many people call the whole South Florida timeline a fraud, a scam and a sham. The taxpayers are on the hook for $2.4 billion in bond expenses for what is morally bankrupt team. But the public officials entrusted with tax dollars never had to give the Marlins a dime. The vast majority of sports economists will state that public subsidized stadiums are really bad deals for taxpayers. It does not help the local economy. It does not spur redevelopment. It merely lines the pockets of the team ownership. There is plenty of blame to go around Miami.
But the public is told that a pro team cannot be competitive or survive without a huge amount of corporate welfare. But look at the San Francisco Giants situation: that owner built his own new stadium with his own money. It was hard, but he survived. And the Giants just won the World Series. So it is possible that win without massive government subsidies.
