It’s always a good idea to double down on a bad deal you are right

Cool so let’s throw millions of dollars and valuable resources away to subsidize a failing and predatory business that is a net drain on our money because you like a game for children whose owners are too cheap to pay for their own business needs. Brilliant

See those underlined words that say study? They link you to the studies.

Here is an article that links to several studies that show that minor league stadiums do not deliver on revenue for cities and are also a bad investment because the MLB is pulling teams out of even newly built stadiums because they are loosing hundreds of millions a year in failed business model.

https://reason.com/2020/12/31/these-cities-built-minor-league-ballparks-with-taxpayer-money-now-they-dont-have-teams-to-play-in-them/

The diamond is not analogous to a public park in any way. Can I go there and play a pick up game with my friends? Is it open to the public free of charge? It’s a venue for for-profit ventures and nothing else and if the business was truly viable it would not need public subsidies.

Yes and if we don’t have a stadium there’s room for more! Nothing about the diamond district hinges on baseball other than the name

Thank you for your utterly pointless comments. God bless you for wasting both of our time trying to antagonize me because I hurt your feeling by saying I don’t give a fuck about baseball and would rather help poor children and fix our city’s problems. You took a stand when dozens of other people who care more about sports than good fiscal and social policy also were also willing to take that stand.

Sorry for caring about poor kids and wanting to not be ripped off by predatory private business practices. Love takes action and speaking out against injustice and preventing harm.

If you don’t understand that using public resources to subsidize a for profit business that statistically looses money for cities who invest in them is a poor choice compared to using that money to invest in things that do improve our community and economy all because you like baseball then yes you have a child like mentality and aren’t approaching things as an adult

They need the stadium to make money, so it’s essential infrastructure to their business model and they should pay for its upkeep and development and construction of a new and improved facility, if they can’t then they are being subsidized.

Sometimes love means not letting limited and needed community resources be channeled into the pockets of big business.

I’d much rather see that land used for more mixed income housing than be used for a new stadium, the diamond district would be fine without it because those are things we actually need and land is at a premium in Richmond these days.

There is no evidence that the squirrels are making the city money. In all these years of these same arguments no one has ever shown that it makes more money for the city after the expenses it costs to keep it running. Statistically around the nation these are money losing ventures that cost cities money and make private business rich at taxpayer expense. It’s bullshit.

The squirrels staying happy doesn’t mean anything for the city, the entire stadium will be torn down soon. Show me one shred of proof that having a baseball team here makes us any money after the expenses it takes in upkeep, infrastructure, and personnel to keep it going

they can take their shit and walk and it would only improve my life. I’m tired of the fireworks scaring my dog and I’m tired of subsidizing people who don’t need it.

3.5 million spent on a stadium means 3.5 million that can’t be spent on things that actually matter. As has been pointed out throughout this thread by many people, the owners of the Squirrels and their parent companies have the money, let them spend it.

No they have not, statistically these projects loose money. And why look elsewhere when you can look at the Diamond and the redskins training camp or any of the other schemes that have all had big promises and then fell flat.

Those things are all much cooler than a minor league baseball team.

If baseball wasn’t demanding the city use our limited resources to pay for its infrastructure, I’d have no problem with it but every few years they try to hold the city hostage and it’s annoying as hell and it’s not an appropriate use of limited tax payer money. I’m all for people having fun, even things I don’t like or enjoy like baseball, but I’d rather have good schools, better roads, and things that benefit everyone not just people looking to be entertained for the night.

If Baseball was financially viable cities would not have to keep coughing up money to build their parks for them, but it’s not even after over a decade of the squirrels being here for some reason they can’t stand on their own feet despite being part of a multibillion dollar industry. It’s a losing proposition and a waste of our limited resources. We need to fix our schools, build mixed income housing, build community centers, fix our roads and build homeless shelters. Building a playground for rich people to save money on their private enterprise is a waste of cash and is the literal bottom of real priorities for anyone who understands how a city works.

It’s so telling in these threads who are the man children and who are the actual adults.

I’d rather help the children of my city than give money away to private business that doesn’t even pay its players fairly.

So do you just not understand how money works?

Because that’s not how money works

That deal is bullshit

Baseball is boring as fuck, we have art, music, the mother fucking James River. I don’t give a fuck about a bunch of men playing a game or want to throw away money that could be used to make our city a better place for families and children to subsidize a multibillion dollar industry that could afford to pay for their own infrastructure.

So it’s a scam

Because people in Richmond are sick of having our tax dollars thrown into private business ventures that don’t deliver on their promises, see Redskins training camp.