How CA can lower tax -funded concession prices

By Alex Jacques, special for Calmatters

This comment was originally published by CalmattersS Register about their ballots.

In 1978, the San Francisco Giants announced an increase in the prices of nickels of hot and beer, which led to 80 cents and 90 cents, respectively, to pay for new concession equipment.

A fan, Ron Gordon, took the corner. He estimated that the price increase would provide wind for the concessionaires well above the price of the new equipment and embarked on a national campaign to combat the hike. He succeeded. Giants canceled the increase in the prices of Hot Dogs, and the chief inflation advisor of President Jimmy Carter wrote him a letter welcoming his efforts as heroic.

Although I cannot say that I am a modern Ron Gordon, my origin forces me to gain such a fight against the ever -increasing concession prices.

I played a baseball from Division 1 at college until my career was over due to an injury. I still love the game, but our national entertainment, like other big professional sports, is a big business. League Brought $ 12.1 billion In revenue last year, all five best professional sports leagues in North America brought nearly $ 60 billion in combination.

As the team’s estimates are rising higher and the owners of billionaire teams become more rich, this is becoming more and more inaccessible to the family. Overall, a family of four can Expect to spend Average $ 240 for tickets, concessions and parking in a baseball match in the main league. NFL game will return them a a huge $ 631S These costs are out of reach for many fans, and if the younger ones are not exposed to the game early, they can never develop the love I have made.

We need to change things. Nowadays sports stadiums are almost always Supported by taxpayer financing At local, state and federal level, which means that fans are at a banknote at both ends. These transactions promise economic development and community benefits, which too often fail to take place. But we can stop publicly funded places from the detachment of families and future fans who are often forbidden to carry their own food and drinks for an affordable breakfast.

Politicians have to The Institute of “street pricing” For places funded by taxpayers dollars. This means that suppliers can only charge prices that are comparable to the same items outside the stadium.

Nearly 80% of airports (also highly funded by public dollars) are covered by some form of “Street pricing plusS “But as scandalous $ 9.99 Laguardia Chex Mix Airport proves that these policies are often ridiculous and rarely applied.

Stadiums and arenas are often funded by Private Bonds of Private Activitywhich are tax deduction. As a condition for receiving tax exemption, places funded by these bonds should be required in order to have strict street pricing policies.

State and local politicians should require street prices as part of all agreed economic development transactions for the construction or updating of new places and stadiums. And the Federal Aviation Administration must train the funding of the airport for policies and the implementation of street prices.

This is not just an idea of ​​consumption. This is a pro-business and a good way to get every family member to become a fan.

The proof is in the pudding (or maybe Ice cream helmet) as many teams have voluntarily introduced restrictions on concession prices. When the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium opened in 2017, the Atlantic Falcons created a A pricing model suitable for fanReducing concessions prices by 50% compared to their previous stadium, offering $ 2 hot and $ 5 beers. The discount was paid as the transactions, revenues and sales of goods remain high and team fans head NFL.

Portland International Airport has strict street prices from the 1980s and the last century and Enjoy sales of retail Well above the national average.

When The New York Times explained Ron Gordon’s search They wrote about the justice of Hot -Dog in 1979 that “(I) in the era of ever -rising prices and giant corporations (Gordon) has tried to prove that a lonely individual can change.”

It has not changed much during the intervention 47 years. At a time when MLB Games visit is at the top of 70 million people, team owners and concessionaires should remember that the love of the game comes from those special memories we have on a balpark-a walk in the home or a special souvenir that they will bring from Oracle Park.

Families are already squeezed by increasing costs for everything from groceries to homes to utilities and giant corporations institute eternity-making strategies and taxi To get every last penny from users. Let’s not take an affordable Balpark Day. And let’s hope that billionaire sports owners do not forget that everything we want in exchange for huge public subsidies to build their stadium is to offer fair and affordable discounts for loyal fans.

This article was Originally Published on CalMatters and was reissued under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Noderivatives License.