The New York Yankees and the New York Mets have to be high on any list of companies that don?t need tax incentives to prevent them from moving.
So explain why the Yankees were granted $940 million in tax-exempt bonds and $25 million in taxable bonds to build their brand new $1.3 billion stadium. Or tell me why The Amazin? Mets got $615 million for their new $800 million facility? The New York state assembly has developed an after-the-fact spinal cord and started to doubt the fiscal wisdom of this giveaway. (Of course it would have been better if they asked these questions BEFORE the bonds were granted, but why quibble?)
Not content with this pile of cash, the Yankees are putting even the Detroit Three to shame when it comes to sucking at the public teat. The team has asked for another $259 million in tax-exempt bonds and $111 million in taxable bonds. (The modest Mets ?only? want $83 million more.) For those of you keeping score at home, the Yankees payroll for athletes last year: $207,108,489*. (That?s an average of $8,284,339.56 per steroid-enhanced freak.) So far in the off-season the Yankees have committed at least $423.5 million to three new members of the team.
A spokesman for New York Mayor Bloomberg defended all this by saying, ?The deal leverages a federal program and will result in New York City getting back more tax revenue than it will cost and the South Bronx getting thousands of new jobs and more than $1 billion in private investment.?
It is so amusing to see one billionaire defending his decision to give public money to another billionaire.
Putting aside the fact that these revenue projections were made before the bubble burst, let me ask a far more salient question: Are there any circumstances under which either of these teams would have left New York? Every dollar spent on this is one that will not be available to pay for teachers, police, fire, etc. as the city has to cut its budget. This, more than any court decision, will have the most impact on His Honor’s ability to win a third term as mayor.
*Mets 2008 payroll: $137,391,376. World Champion American League champion Tampa Bay Rays: $43,422,997
A guest post from Constantine von Hoffman, veteran business journalist and author of the blog CollateralDamage.biz, a satirical look at marketing and business.
Last 3 posts by Constantine von Hoffman
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