Jewish World Review April 21, 2003 / 19 Nissan, 5763

Evan Weiner

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Consumer Reports


Municipal sports spending is a national problem


http://www.NewsAndOpinion.com | For those cities funding major league sports franchises, here's a question: Are you getting a fair return on your investment?

Forty-four states and numerous cities across the country have huge budget problems, but municipal spending on sports is unaffected.

Take New York City for example. Mayor Michael Bloomberg has offered a doomsday budget which would cut jobs and slash services.

But bloomberg will continue to fund a $10 million annual expenditure that gives the Yankees and Mets five million a piece for research and development of new stadiums.

If you go by record, the Yankees are giving their city shareholders and partners a good return on the field.

Mets shareholders might want a refund. Municipal sports spending is a national problem.

Too many cities are cutting back on schooling, garbage pick up and health services while fully funding sports enterprises.

And the monetary return on sports are in the best cases minimal it is a lesson municipal planners still have not learned.

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JWR contributor Evan Weiner is a radio commentator on "The Business of Sports" for Westwood One's Metro Networks. He is being presented with the United States Sports Academy's Distinguished Service Award for 2003. Comment on this column by clicking here.

Up

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02/14/03: Adding jocks to the state's payrolls
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© 2003, Evan Weiner