Comments on Advance Indiana™: Irsay Thumbs His Nose At CIB Because He Can

Artfuggins, You do realize you're using a talki...

2009-04-28T09:50:00.000-05:00

Artfuggins,

You do realize you're using a talking point put out by Irsay, right?

Either find a way to break the contract or file ba...

2009-04-27T17:51:00.000-05:00

Either find a way to break the contract or file bankruptcy. As to Jim spouting a contract is a contract, I didn't hear him yelling when the city broke the contract on the Dome and paid him $48 million.

Maybe the letter should have been adressed to Dear...

2009-04-27T16:43:00.000-05:00

Maybe the letter should have been adressed to Dear taxpayers instead of Colts fans I thought I heard only 30-40% of season ticket holders are from marion county

Paul, you missed the point or maybe I didn't write...

2009-04-27T14:49:00.000-05:00

Paul, you missed the point or maybe I didn't write well. My point was that the Colts have a legal contract with great terms....they have no reason to reopen and agree to less attractive terms.

I hear on quite good authority that the Colts are ...

2009-04-27T13:07:00.000-05:00

I hear on quite good authority that the Colts are VERY behind on paying invoices they owe to HH Gregg.

Guy77, I disagree...the Colts are very stupid whe...

2009-04-27T07:05:00.000-05:00

Guy77,

I disagree...the Colts are very stupid when it comes to PR. Witness their letter to their fans and now this article over the weekend. There have been numerous cases where the Colts could have stepped up and gotten some good PR and decided to be cheap SOBs instead.

So they finally got one right with the TVs. They have missed countless other opportunities.

Gary, if that's the case, then the Colts' strident...

2009-04-27T06:18:00.000-05:00

Gary, if that's the case, then the Colts' strident, arrogant tone is unlikely to work well.

Excellent article. I applaud the call for resigna...

2009-04-27T06:06:00.000-05:00

Excellent article. I applaud the call for resignations.
I look for an extension of the donut counties to include 3rd and
4th tier counties which would include Terre Haute, Kokomo, etc. on the basis that hotels there are also booked on game day. It will be said that those extra counties in fact benefit from the Stadium and should therefore PAY. Don't you just love their reasoning. Fire them all.

Amazing that a pro sports owner thinks it odd that...

2009-04-27T05:54:00.000-05:00

Amazing that a pro sports owner thinks it odd that "players" would want to renegoiate mid-contract. Never happens in pro sports, I guess?

CIB members are likely doing exactly what they were appointed to do. If "taking care of the public trust" was one of those missions, then like as not a different set of persons would have been found to comprise the CIB's membership.

The Colts aren't stupid when it comes to public re...

2009-04-26T23:27:00.000-05:00

The Colts aren't stupid when it comes to public relations. They were quick to replace the TV's that were stolen from the fire station last week. I also suspect that the NFL is telling Irsay (well he was hanging out in New York) not to give an inch in the negotiations with the CIB. I beginning to think bankruptcy is the only true solution. To think we spend more on two pro sports teams then all of the public parks in Marion county, that boggles my mind!

Artfuggins, A mortgage is secured by a lien on th...

2009-04-26T23:09:00.000-05:00

Artfuggins,

A mortgage is secured by a lien on the property. A bankurptcy judge can't change that. However, if a person's balance is worth more than the value of the property, that extra amount can be discharged.

You're comparing apples and organges. The Colts don't have a "mortgage" and their contract can be changed by a bankrutpcy judge.

If Irsay were smart, which he obviously is not, he'd agree to tweak the contract a big to bail out the CIB and walk away with tons of good PR. Instead Irsay and the Colts organization is reviled right now. He better hope the continue to win.

Unless you were concerned that public opinion migh...

2009-04-26T22:29:00.000-05:00

Unless you were concerned that public opinion might be turning against you and that could adversely affect your franchise's return from the community.

Unigov, The CIB decided to give the Pacers $15 mi...

2009-04-26T21:36:00.000-05:00

Unigov,

The CIB decided to give the Pacers $15 milion more (there has been no vote on the subject yet, by he way) because they could. There is no chance the Pacers would leave. The financial penalty for leaving would be too great.

HYPOTHEICAL QUESTION You receive a 30 year mor...

2009-04-26T19:42:00.000-05:00

HYPOTHEICAL QUESTION

You receive a 30 year mortgage on a new home at a rate of 5%. After a few years, the bank calls and says we are having a hard time making money, we want to increase you rate to 7%. Would you agree????

I dont like the original deal but Irsay would be a fool to voluntarily agree to a less beneficial contract.

Another good article. Random factoids: Taxing pe...

2009-04-26T17:20:00.000-05:00

Another good article. Random factoids:

Taxing people to benefit sports is immoral. Sports provide no public good. It's funny how a state that thinks of itself largely as Christian, can support such profligacy.

The 1998 Colts contract guaranteed league median revenue to the Colts. This cannot possibly be constitutional, that the government can guarantee the revenue of one private corporation. Article 1, sec 23.

The CIB itself violates section 22 of the Indiana Constitution, which prohibits local or special laws "Regulating county and township business." Every county would have to have a CIB. Note Allen county will get its own CIB soon.

The CIB was created for one reason - to increase secrecy. Which it has. The State Board of Accounts does not and can not audit the CIB as it is not a county or town.

Peterson dodn't "cave" in giving the Colts such a lavish stadium. Peterson wanted to give Irsay as big a stadium as possible, because construction unions supported the Democrats & Peterson. The whole idea was to build a mega-stadium, irrespective of the cost to taxpayers.

The Convention Center does not make any money - if you hold a convention and agree to use downtown hotels, you get whatever convention space you want for free. Another popular misconception.

On the Pacers and their lease - the CIB offered the $15 million because the only - repeat, only - thing the CIB cares about on that deal is keeping the Pacers here. Saving money, etc, is not part of the equation.

Taking into account sagging hotel occupancy, the growing recession, the Colts dynasty coming to an end, the unpopularity of the Pacers, the whole convention-sports-hotel scheme for downtown is doomed. cf - The best and highest use for MSA is a (gravel) parking lot ?