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Thursday, March 20, 1997

Houston mayor favors plan to give taxpayers stake in sports teams

HOUSTON (AP) - Mayor Bob Lanier favors a plan to allow taxpayers to become part-owners of sports teams who play in tax-supported stadiums, according to the Texas Journal of The Wall Street Journal.

"This is a useful option to look at in considering the best ways to keep a team in town and for the people to get their money's worth," Lanier said.

Lanier said he would consider adding a public-ownership component to any one of the Houston-backed bills being debated in the Legislature that would provide for taxpayer-financed sports facilities.

He's proposed the idea in informal discussions with holders of sports franchises in Houston, among others, Lanier said.

Lanier's idea would give the public a minority stake in a team based on the proportion of public funds used to build a new arena. Public ownership would mean taxpayers would benefit if a team's value and profits rose because of a new stadium funded with their tax dollars.

Advocates believe partial public ownership could be used to guarantee that a team won't leave for a better offer.

Even after cities put in the money to build an arena for teams, the teams sometimes try to break their leases or try to renegotiate better terms under the threat that they might leave town.

Mark Rosentraub, director of the Center for Urban Policy and the Environment at Indiana University, testified against the various sports-tax bills last week in Austin and advocated giving the public a minority stake in teams.

In his testimony, Rosentraub mentioned the Texas Rangers, who moved into The Ballpark in Arlington, which was supported partly by local taxes. After moving into the stadium, the team's value shot up 55 percent, to $157 million.

He also said the Minnesota Legislature is considering a proposal to give the public a 49 percent stake in the Minnesota baseball team in exchange for financing a new stadium.

Taxpayer-financed arenas have been criticized as "corporate welfare," a charge made by Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock last week.

Ross Perot Jr., owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team, asked the city last week to split the cost of a new $220 million arena.

Dallas Stars hockey team majority owner Tom Hicks has asked Dallas for a $70 million interest-free arena loan.

Drayton McLane Jr., owner of the Houston Astros baseball team, will get a new $265 million taxpayer-financed stadium for his team. In San Antonio, Peter Holt, chairman of the Spurs basketball team, is asking for public financing to replace the Alamodome.

David Deniger, a minority owner of the Stars, said he's never heard of the public ownership concept and isn't sure sports leagues would allow it. He said the $70 million loan would be repaid and Dallas would benefit from the investment.

"It's not corporate charity," he said.

Dallas city manager John Ware said he'd rather have city funds repaid and reinvested than equity stake in a team.

"In Dallas, cash is king," he said. "We'd be better off with rent payments than equity."Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
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