Stephen Ross Hearts Rick Scott

Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross is mad at House Speaker Will Weatherford for not having a floor vote on the tax subsidy for a new stadium. Ross released this statement.

Tonight, Speaker Weatherford did far more than just deny the people of Miami Dade the right to vote on an issue critical to the future of our local economy. The Speaker singlehandedly put the future of Super Bowls and other big events at risk for Miami Dade and for all of Florida. He put politics before the people and the 4,000 jobs this project would have created for Miami Dade,and that is just wrong.

I am deeply disappointed by the Speaker's decision. He gave me and many others his word that this legislation would go to the floor of the House for a vote, where I know, and he knows, we had the votes to win by a margin as large as we did in the Senate. It’s hard to understand why he would stop an election already in process and disenfranchise the 40,000 people who have already voted. I can only assume he felt it was in his political interest to do so. Time will tell if that is the case, but I am certain this decision will follow Speaker Weatherford for many years to come

I seriously doubt not having a floor vote will hurt Weatherford. A poll by Dario Moreno found that 73 percent of likely Miami-Dade County voters did not support a tax subsidy for a new stadium. The lack of public support is why Weatherford didn't have a floor vote. Ross has decided to turn to a man that loves using tax dollars for corporate profits. Yes, I am talking about Gov. Rick Scott.

The political action committee will support Republican Gov. Rick Scott's reelection next year and play a "nonpartisan" effort in other Florida races, according to Politico. The governor all but endorsed the Dolphins' proposal.

Ross, a billionaire real-estate developer, is a longtime GOP fundraiser. But he was incensed at some in his own party who blocked the stadium legislation during this year's session, chief among them House Speaker Will Weatherford. The legislation was required to allow Miami-Dade to ask voters whether public money should be spent on the stadium upgrades.

Never mind that taxpayers will pay for the new stadium and that the Miami Dolphins will reap all the profits. Never mind that studies, such as by Andrew Zimbalist and Roger G. Noll, do not provide jobs are huge financial benefits for the communities they are in.

In our forthcoming Brookings book, Sports, Jobs, and Taxes, we and 15 collaborators examine the local economic development argument from all angles: case studies of the effect of specific facilities, as well as comparisons among cities and even neighborhoods that have and have not sunk hundreds of millions of dollars into sports development. In every case, the conclusions are the same. A new sports facility has an extremely small (perhaps even negative) effect on overall economic activity and employment. No recent facility appears to have earned anything approaching a reasonable return on investment. No recent facility has been self-financing in terms of its impact on net tax revenues. Regardless of whether the unit of analysis is a local neighborhood, a city, or an entire metropolitan area, the economic benefits of sports facilities are de minimus.

State representatives Jose Felix Diaz, Carlos Trujillo and Michael Bileca by Florida Jobs First. This is a PAC created by Ross. There would be jobs created in construction of a new stadium. The long-term benefit is mostly part-time employers selling hot dogs and cleaning the stadium. Ross is overstating the economic benefits of a new stadium.

Shocker: Rick Scott Warming Up to Miami Dolphins Stadium Deal

It should come as no surprise that Gov. Rick Scott is leaning towards supporting the Miami Dolphins stadium deal.

I like the fact that the Dolphins are putting up a lot of [the club's] money up," he said Tuesday, the day after the football team inked an agreement with Miami-Dade County. "I like the fact they're committing to stay. I like the fact that there's a referendum. They're fulfilling those obligations. But I haven't seen the return-on-investment numbers, which of course is the biggest thing."

Study after study have found that sports stadiums do not have a major positive economic impact for local communities. A study by economists Brad Humphreys and Dennis Coates for the libertarian-leaning Cato Institute found the financial benefits of sports stadiums overrated.

Our conclusion, and that of nearly all academic economists studying the issue, is that professional sports generally have little, if any, positive effect on a city's economy," Humphreys and Coates wrote in a report issued last month by the Cato Institute in Washington, D.C.; The institute commissioned the professors to study the economic impact of a deal proposed by Anthony Williams, the mayor of Washington, D.C.; under terms of the agreement, Major League Baseball would move the Montreal Expos to the nation's capital in exchange for a new, city-built ballpark.

Economist Dean Baim found that taxpayers loss money on sports stadiums. The reason is simple. Taxpayers pay for the construction and upkeep of the sports venues. The owners of the sports franchises keep the profits. Cities do not get a return on their investment. Would you give money to let someone start a business and then let that business owner keep the profits? That is exactly the kind of deals elected officials negotiates with sports franchises.

Scott made the statement that the Miami Dolphins will put up money to pay for the stadium. Tampa Bay Buccaneers owner Malcolm Glazer promised to pay have the cost of the construction of Raymond James Stadium. Glazer later reneged on that promise. Don't count on Dolphins owner Stephen Ross to put up a penny for a new stadium.

Dolphins Unlikely to Get Tax Subsidy

Dario Moreno, a political science professor conducted a poll of likely Miami-Dade County voters. The question Moreno asked is if voters would support a tax subsidy for stadium improvements for the Miami Dolphins. 73 percent of likely voters said they would not support a subsidy.

"This is toxic to the Legislature, the county commission and the executive," said Dario Moreno, a political science professor who conducted the 1,000 voter survey for a private client.
"There's not one group of likely voter who supports this idea," Moreno said. "Even in County Commission District 1, where the stadium is, people are overwhelmingly opposed."

The Florida legislature is amending a bill for a bed tax. The tax would then have to be approved by a voter referendum. However, the tax may never see the light of day. The Miami-Dade delegation is against tax dollars for stadium improvements. According to Forbes, Stephen M. Ross is the 117th richest man in the world. Ross has the financial resources to lobby the Florida legislature. Which makes me wonder why he doesn't use his own money for improvements like Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik?

Update: The Buzz, a Senate approved $400 million for remodeling of the Miami Dolphins' stadium.

Barack Obama Socialism Alert

Miami Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga fears the socialism Barack Obama will unleash on America.

"He wants to double the capital gains tax, or almost double it," Huizenga said. "I'd rather give it to charity than to him."

The South Florida waste management king hit economic hard times this year. Huizenga was force to sell 50 percent of the Dolphins for a mere $500 million. The economic crisis hasn't prevent Mr. Huizenga from giving to Republicans. Newsmeat lists Huizenga as a McCain donor.