Were it not for the $1.5 million the city is spending to direct Bob Johnson’s traffic this year, the situation might be worth a chuckle. This matter was chewed over back in July by the council with no outcome possible other than the city picking up the tab.
City Manager Pam Syfert did not, in the contract the city signed with the team, require Johnson to pay for traffic control outside the arena the same way other professional teams, like the Panthers, do. That’s it, there is nothing to be done. The city could stop paying for the service and let traffic choke down Uptown and see if Johnson steps in to pay the tab, but that nuclear response will never happen.
