Comments on Advance Indiana™: CIB Bankrupt: Grand Won't Ask Colts To Shoulder Burden And Early Wants To Give More To Pacers

I'd like to see a few hundred people picket outsid...

2009-01-28T14:04:00.000-05:00

I'd like to see a few hundred people picket outside Ir$ay's house.

Sean, I'm not quite sure of that. There is growing...

2009-01-28T12:01:00.000-05:00

Sean, I'm not quite sure of that. There is growing talk of citizens using the grand jury process, the so-called fourth branch of government, to enforce the Constitution and our laws which are being trampled upon by our government leaders. Although prosecutors are currently the only ones exercising the right to indict through grand juries, there is legal authority which would allow citizens to bring indictments as well. Justice Scalia has discussed this possibility in at least one of his opinions.

Yes spooky, but the citizens and taxpayers have no...

2009-01-28T10:53:00.000-05:00

Yes spooky, but the citizens and taxpayers have no police powers with which to arrest and prosecute our politicians when they steal from us under the protection of a government badge, title or very large hat.

I believe ANY attempt to bail out the Colts or the Pacers, both of whom I like and appreciate having in our city, should be met with at least as much resistance as was seen with the property tax increases two summers ago.

With something like 1.4 million in the greater metro area, every $14 million in shortfall is $10 per citizen or, I would estimate, $25 per household maybe?

AI,Yes, I can't believe they built a retractable r...

2009-01-28T07:50:00.000-05:00

AI,

Yes, I can't believe they built a retractable roof stadium and didn't spend a tiny fraction of that to put drainage in. Now the hundreds of millions extra we spent for the roof is worthless because its kept closed 90% of the time.

If the Simons', who are billionaires, can't afford...

2009-01-28T07:06:00.000-05:00

If the Simons', who are billionaires, can't afford the Pacers, what makes them think WE can?????

This is absolute, verifiable proof why it is moral...

2009-01-28T06:40:00.000-05:00

This is absolute, verifiable proof why it is morally OK for a common citizen to "cheat" the government out of the amount of taxes government is owed. Work off the books, for cash, and tell the government to go and pound sand.

There is an often quoted line, "we don't negotiate...

2009-01-27T22:51:00.000-05:00

There is an often quoted line, "we don't negotiate with terrorists".

I believe we should not negotiate with "economic terrorists". These sports franchises are private businesses, and while many may argue they add economic value to city they fail to consider the $90 per Colts ticket taxpayers pitch in. And if the CIB shortfall is taken into consideration, it looks to be maybe double that.

If you can't run a bank properly, it is not the taxpayers problem. If you can't build cars profitably, it is not the taxpayers problem. If you can't profitably field a sports franchise, again ... not our problem.

These problems will only get worse, and will cause economic harm (drain) on cities until politicians, as Councilor Coleman wisely suggested, start telling them "no".

Taxpayers would be pissed off if they were paying for a brand new skyscraper for Eli Lilly or the Simons. This is no different.

The original sales pitch was that we had to have a...

2009-01-27T20:18:00.000-05:00

The original sales pitch was that we had to have an open air stadium because domed stadiums were a thing of the past. Fans wanted the full football experience we were told. After the plan moved forward, Irsay demanded that the stadium have a retractable roof. That added about $75 million to its cost, none of which he paid. The CIB deliberately low-balled the estimate on how much the regional tax would generate in revenues, hoping that the legislature would give them the green light to divert those bond revenues to pay operating/maintenance expenses just like they did with the RCA Dome. Kenley nixed that plan. Yes, the contingency money was put in the budget, but the idiots didn't even spend the less than $1 million it would have taken to install a drainage system. As a consequence, the open air feature is being rarely used. As someone commented, it's really just like a sunroof in your car.

Ed, Thanks for sharing. Why is it that we give mor...

2009-01-27T19:48:00.001-05:00

Ed, Thanks for sharing. Why is it that we give more authority to the unelected Grand and Early to decide these matters than we give to elected officials like yourself to make these decisions?

If the GOP and Luke Kenly had used the $50 milli...

2009-01-27T19:48:00.000-05:00

If the GOP and Luke Kenly had used the $50 million in the budget for operating expenses instead of diverting it to cost overruns....there might not be a problem now or a much smaller one.

I don't make it a habit of commenting on blogs but...

2009-01-27T19:42:00.000-05:00

I don't make it a habit of commenting on blogs but this one just irks me. This blog is spot on as to why the Pacers are losing money. Nobody wants to go to the games. Even I as an elected official have turned down free tickets to their games in the past. Irsay got a sweet deal that never should have happened. The Simon's want a sweet deal now as well. Atleast the Colts are performing. I personally am not supportive of giving more money to millionares. As harsh as this sounds I say if you think your team can make more money elsewhere, more power to you. I won't agree to give it to you.

So the Pacer's learned from Ir$ay how to threaten ...

2009-01-27T18:13:00.000-05:00

So the Pacer's learned from Ir$ay how to threaten to leave the city to get everything you want off the taxpayers to stay.

I susupect if we let the Pacers leave, we'd get another franchise.

Oh and one other thing. I'm still betting on the ...

2009-01-27T17:48:00.000-05:00

Oh and one other thing. I'm still betting on the Mariott complex to change drastically, to cut back or perhaps even stall out, before long. Marriott is in a pinch too, as evidenced by their Austin TX hotel complex which is not unlike the one being put up here.

I wish a certain ex-Mayor hadn't handed them a $50 Million check a couple years ago!

Makes you wonder where the 'financial benefit' tha...

2009-01-27T17:45:00.000-05:00

Makes you wonder where the 'financial benefit' that are always promised for these facilities is, doesn't it? The sorts of numbers being tossed around are NOT legitimately assignable to the tightening economy because they have been designed and implemented years ago.

The one silver lining in this is if the CIB goes away permanently.

What a dirty pile of laundry these greedy people have collected. They all need to be brought up on charges. Yeah, like anyone in the Prosecutor's office has the gonads for that.

It irks me the media is saying 'LOS is facing a shortfall' like it's something that just happened. It's been lurking for several years, just another of those 'elephant in the room' things.

Did anyone not see this coming? This is disgustin...

2009-01-27T17:37:00.000-05:00

Did anyone not see this coming? This is disgusting. At a time when they are talking about being $40 million in the hole, they're talking about giving more away to the millionaire Simonses and won't ask for a penny from millionaire Irsay.