As Fresno observers have noticed, franchise owners and their political allies often justify subsidies by crying poverty and by claiming that their teams have a major impact on the local economy and deserve tax money for that reason alone. This typical 'poor-mouthing by team owners is a favorite spin used to delude local government leaders and tax payers. In fact, teams are doing quite well without sweetheart deals owners can pressure local mayors and council members officials to give them to get and to keep a team. Rosentraub debunks the popularized myth of sports franchises and local economies. Rosentraub uses U.S. Department of Commerce statistics to show that even in counties with the largest concentrations of jobs directly related to professional sports, the teams typically employ less than three-tenths of 1 percent of the local work force.
Sports teams are small businesses.
By The Fresno Daily Republican Newspaper. All rights reserved. All rights reserved.