The UPoR’s Eric Frazier has a new column out detailing the ambition of Queen City government and business leaders to someday host the Super Bowl. Here’s the bottom line: Be scared, be very scared for you wallet.
Sample quote: “If you’re in the game of pro sports, you have to be all in,” [Deputy City Manager Ron] Kimble said. “We’ve seen what happens if you’re not all the way in — you lose a team.”
Unfortunately, Charlotte’s professional sports desires build upon a bizarre combination of ambition clouded by fear and self-doubt, which only adds to the already high cost of hosting such teams. Case-in-point: Publicly announcing you’re “all in”, that you’ll do whatever is necessary to keep the Panthers and Hornets, by implication, do whatever is necessary to get the Super Bowl, absolutely destroys the city’s negotiating position in future arena talks. If you say you’re willing to pay a lot, that no burden is too great, because you know you have to pay a lot, you — with the “you” in question, of course, being taxpayers — will indeed pay a lot.
