It compares how taxpayers fare in a scenario where no stadiums are built to the proposed deal. If stadiums are built, Eagles' tax revenues jump by 67 percent the first year and grow from there. Baseball revenues balloon 144 percent in year one of a new ballpark. It's assumed the Phils will draw more fans with an attractive stadium, and the football stadium will host other events, including soccer and rock concerts. Expected receipts from the new 2 percent rental car tax turn out to be about 10 percent bigger than administration projections this spring.
Officials say they have better data now.
If stadiums aren't built, it's assumed the teams leave in 2011 and all the associated spending and tax revenues simply disappear. Many economists believe most fan spending would go to other recreational options and stay in the region. Rosentraub said he's studying the deal, and will testify at hearings on Thursday. I'll try and provide some context for comparing these deals. If you provide the same level of public subsidy in a market the size of Philadelphia that you do in Nashville, that just makes the team that much more profitable.