I support reader Benjamin Haber’s letter to the editor “Enjoy Parks for Open Spaces, Not Sports Stadiums.”
Most economists specializing in the study of sports economics agree that it is usually a bad deal for government to subsidize or build stadiums with for-profit entities instead of using the money for other, more urgent needs.
All you need to do is take a stroll outside Yankee Stadium, Citi Field and the USTA stadium to see that the surrounding neighborhoods are empty, dreary and decaying wastelands. The taxpayers should get a hefty share of the profits for their investment in structures along with owners and players of the sports teams.
It is false pride to have a local team if it is the taxpayers who take the risks and the team owners who take the profits. Across the country there are countless empty stadiums that were built for sports teams that never came or left for profitable venues.
Dr. Philip Ernest Schoenberg
Professor of Government
Vaughn College
Flushing
