"Don't Pay For It" Policy

I read this morning that Jean Charest has committed the province to 45% share of the cost to build a new arena to house what hopefully would be a home for a new hockey team to grace the city of Quebec. While at first blush it would seem like a worthwhile investment to attract a sports franchise, especially to the multitudes of hockey fans that I'm sure have been starved for a NHL based hockey team, I would like to offer this advice. "DON'T DO IT". Like a friend perched on a building ledge on the 43 floor of an office complex ready to end the hopelessness, I feel it my responsibility to at least try to talk you down from the ledge and point out a few key facts which may allow you to see life as it actually is and not the way you want it to be or believe it to be.

Firstly, while politicians (Jean Charest, etc), businessmen (Mark Angleson, Chairman of Quebecor and potential owner of said team) and certainly Gary Bettman would all try to convince you that this is a wise and bountiful thing, let me assure of one thing. None of them have the best interest of the taxpayers or hockey fans for that matter in mind. That's right folks, I said it right out loud. Mr. Bettman does not have the hockey fans best interest in mind. He has been hired by the owners to operate, direct and counsel the business towards the end which best represents the owners. The businessman will gain an asset through the acquisition of a team which is movable, can be used as leverage at will and provide only short term satisfaction at best when not firmly committed to the area in question and the politician is only thinking votes. Nothing more. 

Secondly, there are a litany of failed public investment into  sports complexes as evidence of all sorts which taxpayers are lead to believe will invite investment, entertainment dollars and profile to those areas, but in the end these are unabashed lies. The old Giants Stadium in NJ is still being paid for until 2025 even though it was torn down this year. Seattle has one in the Seattledome which still lies empty, the now departed Igloo in Pittsburgh and the endless stories related to the Coyotes woes, should be enough to scare anyone off.What is really troubling, however, is that Quebecers most of all should be skeptical because the payment for the Big O is still on the books and that is now 34 years old. All of these examples represent instances where taxpayer money has been re-directed away from public investment in decaying infrastructure, on the suggestion that somewhere down the line there is some big payoff. There isn't today and there won't be tomorrow. 

Thirdly and most importantly, the suggestion that it will bring new entertainment dollars to the area is of course a fabrication of the highest order. Just because a team comes to town, doesn't adjust a family income upwards to allow for that new entertainment offering. A family who earned $50,000 before the entrance will earn exactly $50,000 after the entrance of that team into that market. If they allocate $2500 per year to their entertainment expenditures, that is what they allocate. They won't spend $4000 and give up food or rent or heat. The only thing that will occur is a redirection of that expenditure away from those venues currently supported in the community. Those venues which I might add are probably bound more to the community then the promised franchise. 

Finally, this carrot dangling is based on false hope. Bettman hasn't committed to a team in Quebec, but merely suggests it won't be considered until there is a new venue. This coupled with the fact that a Canadian team hasn't won the cup in more than seventeen years should tell you something.

Spend your money on something that will offer you at least some satisfaction. Invest in high speed transit to get you to the big city that offers those slices of entertainment and straddles those taxpayers with the burden of profile and then take that high speed train back home to enjoy the thought you don't have the heartache.