Pacers Still Have A Friend In The Star

I've long since given up on expecting any objectivity from the Indianapolis Star when it comes to the issue of asking average taxpayers to dig deeper into their pockets to subsidize the lifestyles of the state's two wealthiest families, the Simons and the Irsays, in order to support their professional sports franchises. Today is no exception. Once again we are treated to a load of crap on the editorial pages telling us why we should give the billionaire Simons a helping hand with $15 million a year more in public aid while we close schools, lay off teachers, cut bus services, contemplate closure of libraries, close public pools, shorten the season for those pools that are still open and slash funding for our parks. The "Conversations" page, which is supposed to share the perspective of both sides of an issue, gives us a half-page column from former Indianapolis resident and good friend of the Simon family, Mark Rosentraub, to supposedly explain from one person's point of view from afar why it is important we not fail to give Herb Simon $15 million a year more for his failing NBA franchise.

Rosentraub is a former economics professor at Indiana University and supposedly an expert on the economics of sports. Apparently he has decided to discard decades of objective research by himself and others who've studied the issue and come to the conclusion that investments in professional sports teams do not pay off economically. If you weren't so angry by the time to you reached the last paragraph of Rosentraub's dribble that you tore up your newspaper (I know. Most of you gave up your subscriptions to the Star long ago), you really missed out on an opportunity to have a good laugh at Rosentraub's expense. "I still own a house in Marion County, and I know what that investment will mean for my property taxes," Rosentraub writes. Either Rosentraub doesn't own a house in Marion County or he has never read his tax bill because if he had, he would know that the CIB and the facilities it supports are not funded by property taxes. We've paid for those sports palaces with taxes on food and beverages, hotels, rental cars, cable franchise fees, some help from the Lilly Foundation and a lot of borrowed money. The taxing has never kept up with the borrowing, and we've torn down two sports facilities, Market Square Arena and the RCA Dome, without ever paying off the borrowed funds.

Nonetheless, for Rosentraub it all comes down to keeping our city from being known as "India-no-place." He seems to think businesses only choose to locate here if there is a professional sports team, oblivious to the closure of so many manufacturing businesses over the past three decades that used to employ generations of city residents with good-paying jobs. He obviously has never visited Austin, Texas sans professional sports teams and thriving economically. He also seems to think that people choose to live downtown only because there are two professional sports teams here. On that point, he could not be more wrong, and I know that as a downtown resident for the past 20 years. Sporting events hurt most downtown businesses that rely on foot traffic because people avoid the area like the plague when folks drive in from the wealthier suburbs to attend the high-priced events, clogging area streets, filling up parking lots and then quickly returning home to suburbia without stopping at an area restaurant for some food and beverage or shopping at Circle Centre Mall. People choose to live downtown to be close to work, and to enjoy its many amenities, including White River Park, the canal, museums, theaters, shopping, etc., all within walking distance or a short bike ride. Rosentraub, of course, cites to no credible economic studies to support his wild claims he takes time out of his busy Michigan job to share with us.

Equally as laughable is an editorial today entitled, "With some team effort, deal can be a win-win." The Star's editors are apparently privy to information that has not been shared with the public by the CIB. After all, it is an investor of sorts in Conseco Fieldhouse. Yes, that is a disclaimer that the Star editors have repeatedly failed to make in any reporting or editorializing on this subject. The Star's predecessor company invested in the Simons' Circle Centre Mall, along with other area businesses when it was first built; it's really your mall because it was built with your taxpayer dollars and is managed by the Simons rent-free, who get to keep all of the profits, but that's part of your civic duty as an Indianapolis resident. Instead of repaying money invested in the mall by the Star and other area businesses from the revenues generated from the mall, the CIB got their permission to redirect the money to Conseco Fieldhouse so your taxes wouldn't have to be raised as much as they would otherwise need to be raised to pay for a new palace for the Pacers to show off their stuff. The CIB has had to get several extensions from the investors, including the Star, to repay this loan because the funds haven't been there. The Star management approved of these extensions at the same time it has laid off a bunch of reporters, cut the pay of other staff and otherwise slashed funding needed to put out a credible daily newspaper.

Let me return to the point that I started to make. "Completion of a deal to transfer the operational costs of Conseco Fieldhouse from the Indiana Pacers to the city's Capital Improvement Board appears to be more of a layup than a long shot," the editorial begins. Okay, so that means millions of dollars more will need to be spent annually by the CIB, which is already operating with a structural deficit, having just taken out a $9 million loan from the state with plans to borrow $18 million more over the next two years. Does the Star know about a pot of money sitting out there just ready to be tapped that none of us have been told about? If such a pot of money exists, does it make sense to spend that money to subsidize the billionaire Simons instead of funding our libraries, parks and city bus services?  And does Dan Carpenter head up to the roof of the Star building and contemplate plunging to Pennsylvania Avenue below every time the Star pens another one of these wacky editorials? If it helps ease your pain any, the Star editors think the actual cost of taking over the operation of Conseco Fieldhouse from the CIB will be cheaper "than the $18 million that's been discussed." No, you didn't read that number wrong. The Simons increased the annual cost $3 million a few weeks back to sweeten the pot. The higher price tag to operate the much-larger Lucas Oil Stadium was $20 million. Go figure on why Conseco's cost would be nearly as high but don't expect any one at the Star to make an attempt to figure out that discrepancy for you.

And history repeats itself. The Indianapolis Tennis Center, which was built so the City could host a professional tennis tournament is about to meet the wrecking ball. A little west of there sits the IUPUI Natatorium, which was built as part of the City's ambitious plan to host the Pan-Am games back in the 1980s. It is in a complete state of disrepair and needs millions of dollars invested in it in order to keep national swimming and diving events coming back. IUPUI says it has no money to make the repairs, although it's been on a non-stop building boom for the past three decades. It wants the CIB to pay for those repairs, and the CIB seems obliged to help them out. Where the money comes from is anyone's guess. Maybe it just falls out of the sky.