February 02, 2010

Dolphins roof demand hits resistance

Bloomberg has a long story today about resistance to the Miami Dolphins' demands for a taxpayer-funded roof on their stadium, which they say is needed so it can host future Super Bowls without risking somebody getting rained on. Along with lots of quotes from local elected officials noting that Miami is flat broke and already on the hook for a new Florida Marlins stadium, there's this keeper of a quote from one sports economist:

The Super Bowl is worth $30 million to $90 million, said Victor Matheson, a sports economist at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts.

"You could host a Super Bowl every year for the next 20 and be lucky to recoup your costs," said Matheson, co-author of a 2004 paper on the event's economic impact.

"A great majority of our community was outraged at the Marlins Stadium deal," added David Karsh, a spokesperson for Miami city commissioner David Sarnoff. "You would have to anticipate similar sentiment if yet more public funds are steered toward benefiting wealthy team owners." Karsh cleverly forgot to mention that it was his boss who, after opposing the Marlins project, ultimately cast the deciding vote that allowed it to move ahead.