There are a large number of funding challenges that our local government faces over the next decade. Challenges with funding our schools, challenges with funding our infrastructure needs and challenges funding affordable housing and transportation to maintain our workforce in the area.
One challenge our local government shouldn’t have to take on is finding $30 million to upgrade McCormick Field in downtown Asheville. There are three reasons why we should spend our tax dollars elsewhere.
First, the for-profit team that plays at McCormick Field already has a sweetheart deal from taxpayers. They occupy an 8.25-acre property in a prime downtown location while paying zero property taxes and paying only $1 in rent per year. McCormick Field is assessed by the county as being worth over $27 million, but we collect zero in real estate taxes and only get $1 per year from the for-profit company using it.
Second, Major League Baseball (which controls Minor League Baseball), has projected revenues of over $11 billion in 2022; top players have salaries well over $30 million per year. It is the MLB that is requiring some of these changes to McCormick Field. As BallparkDigest.com describes it, the changes are to “protect their investments in highly paid prospects.” It certainly feels like MLB would like Buncombe County taxpayers to invest in their prospects as well.
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In addition to the upgrades MLB is requiring, the for-profit team playing at McCormick Field would also like the taxpayers to fund building a luxury suite and a party deck at the ballpark. Should taxpayers be footing the bill for these types of amenities so the for-profit corporation renting the stadium for $1 can make even bigger profits? Pretty sure that’s an easy answer.
In some instances, there is certainly a case to be made for our local government engaging in public/private partnerships. Major League Baseball, however, is not a good partner. MLB has been allowed to operate outside of the Sherman Antitrust Act since the US Supreme Court ruled in its favor 100 years ago in 1922. It essentially operates as a monopoly that has been protected by both Congress and the courts. Why would the MLB, the second largest sports league in the world and an organization already protected by our government like no other industry, still need so much taxpayer help for it to survive? And what do the taxpayers of Buncombe County receive from this partnership?
Third, and most important, government spending for baseball stadiums is a bad investment. A paper published this September in the Journal of Economic Surveys includes the following in an article about local subsidies for sports stadiums:
“The large subsidies commonly devoted to constructing professional sports venues are not justified as worthwhile public investments. We also investigate the paradox of local governments continuing to subsidize sports facilities despite overwhelming evidence of their economic impotence.”
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Let’s also look at the potential subsidy for McCormick Field on a per game basis. If the $30 million spent upgrading the stadium covers improvements for the next 10 years (and there is no guarantee that MLB won’t ask for additional upgrades even sooner), that means taxpayers are subsidizing $3 million per year or $45,454 per game for 66 home games. Even if our local governments only foot half of the bill, that’s still a taxpayer subsidy of $22,727 per game for 10 years.
As someone who has loved going to baseball games since I was a little kid, it is a bit painful to think about losing a local baseball team. However, not being a kid anymore, it’s important to look at the state of our economy and make difficult choices about where we need to allocate our resources.
Giving subsidies to for-profit companies that don’t generate a good economic return for our area is simply not something we can afford to do. We need that money to help our schools, to help our infrastructure and to provide affordable housing and transportation to maintain our workforce. I hope our elected leaders take a close look at the data and don’t make a decision based primarily on nostalgia.
While I serve as a board member on the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority, the views expressed in this piece are my own and do not represent the views of either the board itself or other board members.
Andrew Celwyn is co-owner of Herbiary and the longest-tenured board member on the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority.