Field of Schemes
Sonics co-owner: We wanted OKC all along - wait, are you writing this down?
August 14, 2007
"Throw another move threat on the fire: Yesterday, Seattle Sonics minority owner (and billionaire natural gas mogul) Aubrey McClendon told the Oklahoma City Journal Record that he was 'under a self-imposed gag order' regarding operations of the team - then yammered at length about it, including the statement: 'We didn't buy the team to keep it in Seattle; we hoped to come here. We know it's a little more difficult financially here in Oklahoma City, but we think it's great for the community and if we could break even we'd be thrilled.'" . . . |
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Mets, Yanks stadium subsidies top $1.25 billion
August 10, 2007
"Field of Schemes has obtained new figures from the New York City Independent Budget Office (I'm sure they'll give them to anyone, but I asked) on the cost to taxpayers of publicly subsidized tax-exempt bonds for the new Yankees and Mets stadiums. The verdict: The $930 million in Yankees stadium bonds will cost the city $10 million in lost tax revenue, the state $18 million, and federal taxpayers a whopping $200 million; for the Mets' $528 million in tax-exempt bonds, the figures are $6 million city, $10 million state, and $115 federal." . . . |
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