The Cubs

There has been a lot of talk around the Mesa and the Chicago Cubs. Earlier in the year, the Arizona legislation passed a bill which would implement a surcharge on rental cars and ticket prices to help pay for a new spring training stadium for the Chicago Cubs. The new stadium would keep the team here for another 25 years. This is big for the City of Mesa and their tourism, but was this the best way to go about getting the funding? Bud Selig, the MLB commissioner sure does not think so. He will not support a surcharge against other fans’ ticket prices, and the plan singles out and favors one team. If I were doing an analysis on the situation, I would sure give this idea a very low score on equity. The Chicago Cubs is a very important team to have financially for spring training, but shouldn’t the legislation have asked for money from the industries in Mesa who receive finances from the incoming tourist to help pay for the costs? Why not, the legislation is fine about fighting about a 1 penny sales tax increase, but they are quick to throw money (8% percent ticket increase) from non-Cub fans to pay for a stadium. Why would it not be a bad idea to have the industry support the stadium expenditure?

Also there have been many reports on how sports stadium decrease money in a city anyway. Would Mesa be that much worse off if the cubs were not in town? Who knows? I can tell you that I am not a Cubs fan and I really do not feel like I need to pay for the stadium. If the Cubs have the most ticket sales out of any of the Cactus league teams, shouldn’t there fan base be able to pay for it. I think it is a simple supply and demand case.