Opinion: Dear Rays, Montreal won't pay for your new stadium
Montrealers are happy to welcome new neighbours with a bagel basket or a case of beer, but we’re not buying them a new hot tub.
That’s how taxpayers in Montreal feel about the Tampa Bay Rays. They sure seem like a great team. We’d love to see them play some games in Montreal. But we’re not going to let them treat themselves to our wallets just so they can build a shiny new stadium.
The first problem is that it doesn’t make sense to build a whole new stadium for half of a ball season.
What’s currently being negotiated between Tampa Bay Rays owner Stuart Sternberg and Montreal billionaire Stephen Bronfman would be a team-sharing agreement. If it were to happen, the Rays would play half the season in Tampa Bay -- presumably in the Tropicana Field -- and half the season in a new stadium near downtown Montreal.
A part-time team is unprecedented, but building half a stadium is impossible. It’s not like you can build everything up until second base and call it quits.
And building those facilities can get outrageously expensive. The three major league ballparks built in the last decade cost anywhere between $630 million and $1.2 billion each. That’s a lot of money to spend on a facility that would be used for about 40 games per year.
Then, there’s the whole question of the economic benefits.
Even with a full-time team, the case for stadium subsidies doesn’t add up.
Economists have looked into it time and time again, under different ownership and subsidy structures. Their results are nearly unanimous that there’s no substantial evidence of positive economic impacts associated with spending taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars on new professional-sports facilities.
When top economists, including Nobel prize winners and former U.S. presidential advisors for both parties were asked about it, only four per cent of them found that taxpayers might gain more than they lose when their money is used to subsidize pro-sports facilities.
What about the tourism and the new jobs you ask? A study on the taxpayer-funded $225-million Camden Yards in Baltimore pegged the net annual economic benefit to the area at $3 million. That’s hardly worth the money, and that’s with a full-time team.
So, the economic case simply isn’t there to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on it.
But there’s also a matter of priorities.
The province of Quebec, where Montreal is located, just doesn’t have hundreds of millions of bucks lying around. Taxpayers already owe more than $50,000 each for the debt our provincial and federal governments have accumulated over the years.
And even if we did have the money, building a new ballpark would rank below fixing our roads, supporting our ailing health-care system or lowering what is the heaviest tax burden in North America.
That’s why, when taxpayers were polled on this question, 60 per cent of them were opposed to subsidizing baseball in Montreal.
If the Rays want to come and play in Montreal, we’ll be sure to give them a warm Canadian welcome. But they need to know that taxpayers’ wallets are off limits.
Renaud Brossard is the Quebec Director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.
-- This article was first published in the Tampa Bay Times on Oct. 27, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Twins from Toronto were Canada's top two female finishers at this year's Boston Marathon
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
opinion Why you should protect your investments by naming a trusted contact person
Appointing a trusted person to help with financial obligations can give you peace of mind. In his personal finance column for CTVNews.ca, Christopher Liew outlines the key benefits of naming a confidant to take over your financial responsibilities, if the need ever arises.
NASA hears from Voyager 1, the most distant spacecraft from Earth, after months of quiet
NASA has finally heard back from Voyager 1 again in a way that makes sense. The most distant spacecraft from Earth hadn't sent home any understandable data since last November.
U.S. Senate passes bill forcing TikTok's parent company to sell or face ban, sends to Biden for signature
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
Train derailed in Sarnia after colliding with a truck
Police are investigating after a transport truck collided with a train in Sarnia.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Wildfire southwest of Peace River spurs evacuation order
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.