More Super Bowl Welfare

Dan Bickley posted an interesting AZCentral column this morning in which he discussed how the NFL plumps up the bidding for the Super Bowl, which of course costs the taxpayers (even the ones who don’t attend) more money.

More professional football welfare. Hmmm. What’s next? Taxpayer-subsidized polo matches? Oh yeah, Scottsdale already has those…

I never would have considered the dynamic of trying to increase the host city bidding activity, thus pricing. Nicely done, Dan. Given John Zidich’s culpability (board of trustees) in the Fiesta Bowl campaign finance/influence peddling scandal, that the editors gave you the latitude to be critical of the Super Bowl. And I’m sure this won’t move you to the front of the media tour bus.

I also very much appreciate the Republic’s reporting on the 2015 Super Bowl Host Committee passing the hat around the Valley of the Sun. As I’m sure you know, Mary Kay Reinhart reported recently that Scottsdale Mayor Jim Lane, council members Linda Milhaven, Dennis Robbins (up for reelection in September) and others authorized a taxpayer-funded spiff to the SB Host Committee over a half-million dollars to,

“…encourage sponsors and groups to stay at Scottsdale hotels and resorts and visit area businesses and in­clude more than 3,000 rooms in the official room bloc.”

Does anyone seriously think there is a POSSIBILITY of empty hotel rooms in Scottsdale when there’s a Super Bowl in the Valley?

Mind you, Scottsdale can’t afford to build permanent fire stations to replace the mobile homes where firefighters are now housed (hosed?), and we can’t pay a competitive wage to journeyman police officers to keep other cities from hiring them away after we spend $100,000 to train each one. Don’t get me started on our $1.3 BILLION in municipal debt, highest per-capita of any major city in the Valley.

http://www.scottsdaletrails.com/2013/12/17/superbowl-welfare/

Here’s Bickley’s column:

Money at the root of NY Super Bowl

Dan Bickley | azcentral sports

NEW YORK – The Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee distributed party invitations to the media on Wednesday.  Guess what they’re promoting?

Sunshine.  Warmth.  Mountains.  Cacti.

Smart.  How else are we going to top New York?

Here’s the sobering truth for those who believe Arizona will have a big advantage coming out of a cold-weather Super Bowl.  So far, the New York-New Jersey project is working incredibly well.

It’s working because it’s New York, possibly the greatest big city on the planet.  It’s working because the NFL is sparing no expense, from police escorts across state lines*  to media parties with top-level entertainment.

It’s working because the NFL needs this to work.

Keep in mind, the biggest reason we’re here [New York for the 2014 Super Bowl] is the NFL wants more leverage when selling off its biggest game.  If cold-weather cities like New York, Denver and Chicago enter the Super Bowl hosting arena, then the bidding price increases dramatically. And that’s additional revenue for the league’s 32 owners.

That’s what this is all about.  That’s why we’re here.   That’s why you should probably cheer for ice and snow on game day.  Otherwise, Arizona might have a tough act to follow, even with our incomparable winter weather.

The effort New York is putting forth was on display on Media Day, when six media buses were given a police escort from mid-town Manhattan to the Prudential Center in Newark. The operation was breathtaking.  Stunned motorists veered off the road.  And if the people whose commute was interrupted only knew they were yielding to the media, there would’ve been a rebellion.