Taxpayer Watchdog Slams St. Petersburg’s Irresponsible Approval of Stadium Subsidies

For Immediate Release

Contact: Kara Zupkus, (224) 456-0257

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) reacted to the St. Petersburg’s City Council’s approval of subsidies for a new baseball stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays. The plan will cost St. Petersburg and Pinellas County taxpayers roughly $600 million.

Patrick Hedger, a noted subsidy slayer and the Executive Director of TPA, offered the following comment:

“It is incredibly disappointing to see the City of St. Petersburg’s approval of these massive stadium subsidies. The city has failed its residents by making a bad bet with taxpayer dollars. Numerous studies show that these wealth transfers from ordinary Americans to billionaires do not increase economic activity and that they burden the public with significant financial costs and risks.

“Worse still, these subsidies were reportedly deliberated upon on a constrained timeline, under pressure. It is fundamentally irresponsible for lawmakers to dispense with massive amounts of the public’s money without due consideration and significant public input.

“Lawmakers should not allow themselves to be held hostage by subsidy-seeking sports teams. Like any other private business, the Rays should fund their own operations. This protects taxpayers from financial risk and ensures that investment decisions are made based on demand and other real-world business conditions.”

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Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to educating the public through the research, analysis and dissemination of information on the government’s effects on the economy.