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The money game

Lobbyists for the Arizona Cardinals are frantically trying to cut a deal with the state legislature that would build a $341 stadium for the NFL franchise. Concessions have been made, including establishing "participation goals for minority- and women-owned businesses." Still, there remain two issues on which neither the state nor the team claim it will budge: the amount of money the team will kick in to build the stadium and lucrative perks such as naming rights and dibs on concessions, luxury suites and parking proceeds. The state wants the naming rights and $170.5 million; the team wants the naming rights and will only give up $75 million. The intensity of the debate over what amounts to a luxury item for the state is absurd. Until Arizona has met all of its fiscal responsibilities, such things should not even be considered.

Fiscal responsibilities encompass a lot of things, but the main focus is education. The state has even acknowledged as much. In an amendment proposed to the stadium bill, legislators propose that all the money collected for the stadium be put into an escrow account until school improvements already promised by the state are paid off. They also suggest that money already set aside for youth sports facilities be rerouted to schools so they can build or improve their own athletic facilities. Money would first go to the poorest schools. Surely the poor physical conditions of Arizona schools contribute to the state's dismal national ranking in education. The idea that we can and should build stadium after stadium for whatever second-rate teams which may waltz in here while shirking our responsibility to educate the children of this state is contemptible.

Seeing as how we have thrice before -Bank One Ballpark, Tucson Electric Park and America West Arena -handed taxpayer money over to the luxury of athletic franchises instead of teachers and students, it is safe to assume that education is not a priority in this state. What is a priority is vanity. It makes us feel important, it increases our prestige to have professional sports in our state. This is why we bend over backwards for the Suns and the Diamondbacks and now the Cardinals.

However, the athletic industry brings more arguments to the debate. For instance, professional sports brings money into the state. Money comes in not just through tourism dollars, but also through income taxes paid by professional athletes. What tourism money does the state see if the franchise takes for itself any profit connected with the athletic event? The latter proposition is laughable. Assuming these athletes take up residence in Arizona, how much do they really pay in taxes?

For a moment, think about the states with prestige and wealth. Mississippi, for example, is a state that has neither. People, however, do not ridicule Mississippi because it lacks a pro sports team. People deride the state because its citizens are thought to be poor and uneducated. St. Paul, Minnesota, on the other hand, is consistently ranked as one of the best places to live in this country because it has, among other things, a strong public school system - not because it has a strong NFL franchise. Minnesota has a lucrative tax base because it has educated people whom it can tax. It's a pretty sure bet that Minnesota sees more return on the investment in public education than on the investment in the Metrodome -where the Minnesota Vikings play.

Furthermore, the Cardinals can argue that they cannot possibly be a good team without a new stadium. Last season it was the only team in the NFL to play home games at a college stadium, and if this situation keeps up, it will be unable to remain financially competitive. The Cardinals don't even the sell out Sun Devil Stadium. Maybe they have difficulty remaining financially competitive because they don't win games and they have no national fan base. Oh pity the poor mediocre Cardinals. If the current educational system in this state keeps up, thousands of children will never be financially competitive. That is a pity.

It's nice to have a professional sports franchise in the state, but it's not a necessity. It's much nicer to have educated people living here, and that is necessity. A pro team is a luxury for a state, and as such, must be considered purely in terms of benefit. The question is whether we benefit more by spending money on a Cardinals' stadium from which we see no actual proceeds, or by spending money on education and other statewide needs. We know the answer, we just need to act on it.