Louisville is facing 2-arena dilemma. May I just point out that this is insane? What earthly use does Louisville have for a pro team that most people in the city don't even want? They didn't support the original ABA Kentucky Colonels when they had them, and they would be one of the smallest metropolitan areas in the NBA if they got it. And saying that it would be the Louisville-Cincinnati region that would pull the people doesn't help; you don't see the NBA Cincinnati Royals around these days, now do you? They're happily residing in Sacramento, after having made a pit stop at Kansas City for a decade or so. And the concept of a city the size of Louisville with two major basketball arenas is utterly ridiculous.
I swear, the one thing that Daley has ever done that made me want to point at him and say, "Hey, that's our mayor!" was when he told the Bears to take a hike if they expected the city to pay for them to stay. For more than a year, he said this. Alas, he didn't mean it ... but on the other hand, it got him considerably better terms than most cities are getting from their resident blackmailers ... er, pardon, professional sports teams. (Of course, it's also getting Soldier Field a makeover that's going to have it looking like a satellite dish with colonnades. Eh.) And granted, apparently Louisville is looking to limit taxpayer liability ... although even $2 million a year from a city budget the size of Louisville would be a fairly healthy proportion.
The part I love is that they say that an NBA team "would help Louisville attract and retain young professionals who have deserted the city in the thousands over the past quarter-century, resulting in a much-discussed 'brain drain'." Because, you know, the only reason I ever decided to live in Chicago was the Bulls, right? And the Bears and the Cubs and the White Sox. (We'll just ignore the fact that, although I like sports, I've only ever been to ONE professional sports contest. And the fact that this isn't THAT unusual for people in this city.)
And why, pray, does the University of Louisville, of all things, need an arena with 25-30 new luxury boxes and club seating?
And in the meantime, while they're looking at ways to have the state and city finance billionaires paying millionaires to entertain, Kentucky is looking at budget cuts for programs that help poor women and children. Oh, yeah, good priorities here, people!
Copyright © 2001, Iain Jackson, after-words.org
[Archives: 2001 and after]
Archives before February 5, 2001
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12/19/2001: vive la france
12/19/2001: princess, redux
12/19/2001: yemen and rumsfeld
12/18/2001: you're NOT in the army now
12/18/2001: interesting donation
12/18/2001: shame on winn dixie, indeed
12/18/2001: saudi princess
12/17/2001: new resolve
12/17/2001: a victim of the attack ... yeah, right
12/17/2001: polluters ho!