"Perhaps no other genre of story collects and unites so many distinct strains of malfeasance, among them civic corruption, billionaire excess, and the ongoing privatization of every aspect of American life. Just yesterday, our Chris Thompson published an extremely thorough dissection of the Washington Commanders' new stadium boondoggle, which rivals those in Chicago for outrageousness. At this point, the myth-that publicly financing a billionaire owner's new stadium will bear fruit for the public doing the paying-is well established as bunk."
"This is one of the discussion topics on this week's episode of Nothing But Respect. Harry and I were joined by Ben Schneider, urbanist and writer of the forthcoming book The Unfinished Metropolis, to talk stadium financing stuff, why the best sports rivalries correlate with train corridors, and the parallels between how urbanists and basketball fans interact online. You can find Nothing But Respect in Apple Podcasts or whatever podcast app you use. Thanks for listening!"
Warped dynamics of stadium construction combine civic corruption, billionaire excess, and the privatization of public assets. The Washington Commanders' new stadium is presented as a boondoggle comparable in outrageousness to Chicago projects. The long-standing belief that public financing for billionaire-owned stadiums yields public benefits is described as false. Cities and states continue to provide subsidies and public funding despite limited public returns. Examination includes the mechanics of stadium financing, reasons municipalities keep paying, correlations between top sports rivalries and train corridors, and observed parallels between urbanist communities and basketball fan interactions online.
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