Link – Rangers Ballpark Deal Will Sneakily Cost Taxpayers a Few More Hundred Million Dollars

Here’s how it works. The agreement, in addition to raising the city’s share of the money by extending a series of tax hikes that are currently paying for the Cowboys’ Stadium, includes an “admissions and parking tax”—a surcharge on tickets and parking. That’s normal, and is a big part of most stadium financing deals.But in just about every other case, the city (or county/state) uses that tax to pay its share of the stadium’s cost. In this case, the Rangers get to use that tax money to pay down their own stadium debt.

Is there a worse way to spend municipal funds than to get into agreements with billionaire owners to build stadiums? I can’t imagine what it would be.

http://deadspin.com/unprecedented-clause-in-rangers-ballpark-deal-will-sn-1782420103