Sucklers at the Government Teat, Local Babbitt Dept. (Updated) 0
I must congratulate the local rag for uncovering Virginia Beach’s surreptitious effort to lobby the public, that is, the taxpayers of Virginia Beach, on behalf of building a sports palace for the rumored maybe sometime mystical build-it-and-they-will-come professional sports team.
Here’s the lead; sordid details at the link.
“New Arena Means New Jobs, New Revenue and New Era for Virginia Beach,” said the headline Friday on BringItVA.com.
The related Bring It VA Facebook page includes testimonials about the economic impact of the arena – “Who can’t be in favor of a project like this?” one said – interspersed with “Did you know?” claims such as “The arena will create over 1,200 full-time jobs.” And @BringItVA carries the message on Twitter.
There’s a reason that developers are unwilling to build sports palaces on their own hook.
They know it’s a money-losing proposition.
I could go on, but I won’t. Just read the article.
Addendum, Later That Same Morning:
A columnist at the local rag has a novel analysis of the prospects for the sports palace.
