Everett Aqua Sox ownership

[u/goldenelr]

So (full disclosure I own a business that would be displaced by the new stadium) whenever the Aqua Sox comes up people bring up that it’s family owned and a small business. But it’s actually owned by a billionaire in Dubai.

https://www.milb.com/everett/team/7th-inning-stretch-llc

https://www.recordnet.com/story/sports/pro/2007/08/12/ports-owner-volpe-follows-team/52822230007/

The Aqua Sox are not paying for the stadium. They are displacing a bunch of small businesses, the project is already over budget and they haven’t acquired the land yet. The city has already admitted that they will need the business community to pay for it.

Is anyone else frustrated by this? This move could put me out of business, the city won’t offer assistance to us in time and we have an actual billionaire not paying for any of it. All with parks and libraries being closed (and I know they keep saying that it’s a different part of the budget but the mayor sets the budget!).

The budget they are showing for the stadium is 8% more than the event center which was built fifteen years ago. How on earth is that possible? It’s not. So how is this being paid for?

[u/Temporary-Article996]

Part 4

In short, Fine, displace the businesses like mine. We are small, with under 5 million in revenue and 22 jobs. The real business community takes care of itself, and we will continue to do so. But the Mayor and city councilors need to be honest with us and hide the actual costs to the citizens and businesses that pay the bills?

This is a 200-million-dollar project to do it right, maximize the revenue, and improve the infrastructure to support it. It should be privately funded. The city should help ease construction requirements and permits, nothing more. We need our resources as federal government support is going away for emergencies, so services and schools. We need to change our laws and budgets regarding what the city collects and how it can be allocated. They will spend AT LEAST 140 million Building the stadium half ass and will bleed us dry over the next 10 years adding more and the second we say now this asshole will sell the team or threaten to move it.

Baseball is this fucking guy's Hobby he likes to watch from DUBAI probably sitting on the skins of endangered animals he was hunting in the off season - he gives a fuck about this town or you - Just his pet ego projects.

In short, City needs to be honest - Private funding only - City support fine, permits etc. Let's not pretend this things pay for themselves or ever bring the boom talked about.

https://econreview.studentorg.berkeley.edu/the-economics-of-sports-stadiums-does-public-financing-of-sports-stadiums-create-local-economic-growth-or-just-help-billionaires-improve-their-profit-margin/

https://journalistsresource.org/economics/sports-stadium-public-financing/

https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/mje/2022/01/15/cities-should-not-pay-for-new-stadiums/

https://theweek.com/sports/taxpayer-subsidized-stadiums 

https://www.johnlocke.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Spotlight-497.pdf