Taxpayers spent staggering amount of money on NFL stadiums in last 20 years

Taxpayers have spent a staggering amount of money on NFL stadiums in the last 20 years

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The Chargers want $350 million from the city of San Diego to build a new, $1 billion stadium downtown, and they think they’re being reasonable, Dieter Kurtenbach of Foxsports.com reports..

The Chargers’ proposal, made public Wednesday, asks for San Diego to hike up hotel tax rates to create the $350 million. The Chargers are aiming to create a ballot initiative and will start collecting signatures soon to bring the initiative to a vote in November.

This latest proposal has taken on a take-it-or-leave-it tone, and it’s likely San Diego’s last chance to keep its NFL team. The Chargers have already purchased land in Santa Ana, Calif. for a practice facility to be used should the team utilize its exclusive two-year option to move to Los Angeles and share the Rams’ new stadium in Inglewood. Should San Diego fail to raise the $350 million, either through a tax hike or other means, the Chargers have been clear and steadfast —€“ they will head north.

Obtaining money through a threat is the definition of extortion, and it’s a ubiquitous practice when it comes to building new stadiums for American sports teams. While Major League Baseball, the NHL, NBA, and Major League Soccer (and more than a few NCAA schools) have used public money without remorse, the NFL’s standing as America’s preeminent sport has given it unparalleled leverage in stadium negotiations.

That standing, paired with the league’s dangling of Los Angeles as a relocation destination, has opened the coffers of plenty of the league’s home markets for more than two decades.

Over the last 20 years, the American public has spent more than $7 billion dollars to build or renovate NFL stadiums, taking on 46 percent of the total costs of those projects.

This data is by no means complete — it doesn’t factor in the costs the public takes on to run a stadium on gamedays, nor does it include the value of land grants and taxbreaks cities, counties, and states have given to NFL teams.