Monthly Archives: January 2012

After posting my Arena post last week I was asked many times, “I’m not a fan of sports or shows. I’m a taxpayer. Tax payer funds are being used to build it. How will the folks who won’t patronize the arena benefit from this?”

This morning I read this:

Posted by Yahoo Sports News, Florida has what appears to be pending legislation to enforce a law created in 1988 requiring publically funded stadiums to serve as homeless shelters on non-event days.

state legislators have unearthed an obscure law that has not been enforced since it was adopted in 1988. It states that any ballpark or stadium that receives taxpayer money shall serve as a homeless shelter on the dates that it is not in use.

While the law is in place, the Florida lawmakers are seeking to retract payments to these teams if they cannot show they have met this requirement.

“We have spent over $300 million supporting teams that can afford to pay a guy $7, $8, $10 million a year to throw a baseball 90 feet. I think they can pay for their own stadium,” said Sen. Michael Bennett, R-Bradenton, who is sponsoring the bill. “I can not believe that we’re going to cut money out of Medicaid and take it away from the homeless and take it away from the poor and impoverished, and we’re continuing to support people who are billionaires.”

Also cited in the Yahoo Sports News post is the original source, The Miami Herald.

While this could be an election year push to gain votes, it does raise some thoughts on how the team/arena could provide for the community that shelled out a lot of cash to support this project without so much as their consent. (Yes, I do realize that when you vote someone in office you give them your consent to make decisions on your behalf.)

Politics aside, as always… how else could this arena help the community?

Graduations! Yes! I’ve heard it so many times. Forget the 95 degree, 100 % humidity day on my high school’s soccer field that did not detract at all from my 13 year effort to graduate. (I count Kindergarten too). Local school (also taxpayer funded) should receive the opportunity to use this facility at no or low cost. Sure, security and parking folks need to be paid, etc. etc.. Let this arena work for us.

As the effort in Florida goes, to help the homeless. Writing a check is one thing, providing direct assistance is another. How many cold winter nights would find folks seeking refuge in the arena which would be pumping hundreds if not thousands of dollars a day into heating costs for an empty arena. (Can’t have the plumbing freeze can we?) The question of who would oversee this? Maybe a partnership with the current support system. Have representatives from the local shelters/missions that would provide support in the event their shelters are full.

Red Cross disaster relief site. Something bad happens and people need a place to stay temporarily. Tornadoes, Hurricanes, Floods and even Earthquakes not to mention gas explosions or fires. The Red Cross helps folks affected by these disasters. When we lost power last fall, some for weeks, local schools were packed with folks seeking refuge from the cold. An arena could be a central location.

I’m sure there are many other ways the Arena could benefit the community. Anyone out there have more ideas?