The publication says that Portland, Las Vegas, and a few other like cities are “likely landing spots for the next wave of expansion and franchise shifting around the NFL, NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball” because of growing populations.
Here are some excerpts:
Housing affordability has people migrating inland from the West Coast to central California and Nevada and north to Oregon, according to urban expert Wendell Cox, who runs Demographia.com, which tracks population shift. The trend will continue once this recession ends.
"The single biggest factor is population," says Bernie Mullin, who runs The Aspire Group, an Atlanta-based sports consultancy. "The makeup of that population comes second."
We weighted the factors accordingly in our study, picking future sports locales primarily through population projections by Demographia.com, with secondary weight given to median income levels…
…Sacramento and Portland, two NBA-only towns, are both projected to grow population 38% by 2030, to about 3 million people apiece.
Portland, Ore.
Current teams: 1
Projected 2030 population: 3 million (38% growth)
People/team: 3 million (sports city national avg. 1.7 million)
Median income: $55,387 (right at national average)
Like Sacramento, the town's growth has it poised to spread its wings past the NBA.
8 comments:
I find it hard to believe. Portland is not really a sports town, and I do not think, even with new people moving here, that we will become one. Do we really want/need to spend our money on sports stadiums and the like for multi-millionaire sports people? I do not know....
Jake, I don't think that half the town that migrates to Eugene and Corvallis on Saturdays for football games would agree with you. Neither would the Blazer fans or the folks who make several yearly trips up to Seattle to see the Mariners play. Most certainly not the MLS to PDX folks who will point out that their stadium hinges on bonds to be repaid through taxes on the players salaries, concessions, gate receipts and ticket tax...not just giving away money. We also get higher ratings on baseball games in our market than about half the cities with baseball teams. I have to disagree with you that this isn't a sports city. It's a city severely lacking in sports that needs more.
Besides as a lending specialist yourself it seems like you'd be all for the city having amenities like sports teams. It makes moving here a lot more attractive.
The Merritt Paulson proposal is an example of privatizing profit and socializing losses.
Taxpayers lose and average of $3 million per year to subsidize PGE Park even if the tax on ticket sales in included. What Merritt Paulson pays now and is projected to pay in the new subsidy deal doesn't pay operating expenses on the facility. Adding an $85 million expense to that $3 million a year loss to the city makes no sense.
The game of Players not paying state taxes and instead using that money for funding the stadium is a lame attempt at hiding the tax subsidy. Players are still using our roads, schools and everything else we all pay for. Merritt Paulson's employees need to pay their share of taxes like everyone else.
If Portland is a sports town then maybe we'll attract a team and an owner who can give us a model that makes economic sense.
Actually you're wrong. Since it's a city owned facility PGE Park currently costs a little over 3 million a year to operate and keep functional. They can't charge that much more rent from the minor league franchises that currently operate there because they would not be able to afford rent. More importantly those operating costs will be incurred whether or not there is ANYBODY using PGE Park or not. Thus...if Merritt Paulson isn't there paying rent nobody will be paying rent and the city will be losing millions whereas now they're just losing a bit and with an MLS franchise they will be able to pay more rent and the city won't be losing their operational costs. This is a pefect example of a public/private partnership.
The issue of players taxes going to stadium costs is an issue that's over and done with. If it was cool for baseball it's cool for soccer. The legislature already has the bill ready for baseball and it just needs to be modified for soccer.
I for one would love to see some sort of Major League Summer sport in Portland. We have plenty of active outdoor options, and opportunities for spectators at a Soccer or Baseball game on a warm summer evening would be a great complement. Truly a city of our size, or what our size will be, needs this kind of option for people. As a property owner here I'd also support an effort to bring Baseball or Soccer here just for the potential impact on my home value, if not for the entertainment & cultural value these could bring.
A 30 year bond on $85 million means payments of about $7 million annually.
To keep a $1 million rent payment coming in on a deal which is costing the taxpayer $3 million a year we should commit to spending an additional $7 million a year. Brilliant. Potential residents would consider property tax rates, which go up when we waste money like this.
We already have soccer and baseball now. Maybe some future owner will have a plan that makes economic sense.
And I just 'love' to hear my Seattle relatives complain when the owners of the Seahawks and Sonics complain about their outdated stadiums and threaten to move if the city doesn't follow through with a new, state of the art stadium. Why couldn't Seattle keep the Sonics?
Besides the Green Bay Packers, and heck, even they are likely subsidized, is their any pro team not heavily subsidized by their home towns?
As a Tax payer I would like to see PGE park used to its full potential. Highest and best use.
You better hope that the City council back this proposal or we may all be paying taxes for empty buildings with no jobs.
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