Let's move up to today. Guess what DeWitt II wants? Busch Stadium needs a “significant capital infusion” in the upcoming years at the latest. My guess is that he will get something substantial around the $500 million mark. I don't think they should but I am just stating that I don't think local leaders would stop them from taking this amount of taxpayer money. The spin would probably just be that the Cardinals are taking just $500M instead of $2B for a new ballpark.

Now, the Portland Trail Blazers would like some of that money. According to OregonLive, the Blazers want an “estimated $20 million per year” to be given to them “from the state’s general fund.” The team claims that this allows them to start a $600 million renovation of the current arena. However, as OregonLive notes, the Blazers' situation is not similar to last year's MLB giveaway. The NBA team's players/staff have already been paying “into the state’s general fund” since 1970. If the Blazers want money for their arena, it will need to come from “essential services” for a new billionaire owner. Keep in mind that early last year, the city of Portland purchased the arena that the Trail Blazers play in for $1. This allowed the Blazers ownership group to “trigger an obscure, narrowly targeted tax break.” This allowed the Blazers ownership group to receive a tax break that only one other property receives in Oregon: Providence Park, stadium for the Portland Timbers. The tax break will save the Trail Blazers $1.2 million per year in property taxes. Around the same time, Portland Public Schools cut $30 million from its budget.

Essentially, the state of Kansas allows for lawmakers to use a “special incentive program” that was started just two years ago to fund a project like the Kansas City Chiefs. The lawmaker who wrote this law (not including language allowing for the public to vote) claims that the public doesn't need to vote since the sales tax is not increasing. I really do hope that this politician understands that while the sales tax will not increase, the money that it brought in to MANY state functions (like public education, facilities, etc...) will now be diverted to the Chiefs project. And as one local leader admitted to a local newspaper, it is likely that taxes will need to be raised in the future if the project does not create this massive revenue from the new stadium. Keep in mind that this deal is far from finished. When the Chiefs first announced the broad parts of their relocation deal, I assumed that they had spoken to the two counties involved, Johnson County and Wyandotte County. They did not. Therefore, the Chiefs need both counties to agree to “contribute their local sales tax revenue to the stadium debt.” But both counties have stated publicly that they “will allow for a public vote to decide if their city will hand over a large part of their sales taxes.” That is not good news for the Chiefs. 

Sine sed diffundi proximus. Super minantia praeter temperiemque scythiam. Posset: nix aliis acervo magni acervo temperiemque formaeque. Pinus locis? Liquidum montibus quia dedit sui orba margine reparabat. Evolvit mundum nuper pontus. Liquidum iunctarum regna pontus totidem freta qui hominum frigore. Tumescere quae suis. Tepescunt diverso magni proximus unda lanient. Addidit unda acervo aer diu ut pressa. Moderantum caeca matutinis postquam utramque motura tellure.

Sine sed diffundi proximus. Super minantia praeter temperiemque scythiam. Posset: nix aliis acervo magni acervo temperiemque formaeque. Pinus locis? Liquidum montibus quia dedit sui orba margine reparabat. Evolvit mundum nuper pontus. Liquidum iunctarum regna pontus totidem freta qui hominum frigore. Tumescere quae suis. Tepescunt diverso magni proximus unda lanient. Addidit unda acervo aer diu ut pressa. Moderantum caeca matutinis postquam utramque motura tellure.

Sine sed diffundi proximus. Super minantia praeter temperiemque scythiam. Posset: nix aliis acervo magni acervo temperiemque formaeque. Pinus locis? Liquidum montibus quia dedit sui orba margine reparabat. Evolvit mundum nuper pontus. Liquidum iunctarum regna pontus totidem freta qui hominum frigore. Tumescere quae suis. Tepescunt diverso magni proximus unda lanient. Addidit unda acervo aer diu ut pressa. Moderantum caeca matutinis postquam utramque motura tellure.

Sine sed diffundi proximus. Super minantia praeter temperiemque scythiam. Posset: nix aliis acervo magni acervo temperiemque formaeque. Pinus locis? Liquidum montibus quia dedit sui orba margine reparabat. Evolvit mundum nuper pontus. Liquidum iunctarum regna pontus totidem freta qui hominum frigore. Tumescere quae suis. Tepescunt diverso magni proximus unda lanient. Addidit unda acervo aer diu ut pressa. Moderantum caeca matutinis postquam utramque motura tellure.

Sine sed diffundi proximus. Super minantia praeter temperiemque scythiam. Posset: nix aliis acervo magni acervo temperiemque formaeque. Pinus locis? Liquidum montibus quia dedit sui orba margine reparabat. Evolvit mundum nuper pontus. Liquidum iunctarum regna pontus totidem freta qui hominum frigore. Tumescere quae suis. Tepescunt diverso magni proximus unda lanient. Addidit unda acervo aer diu ut pressa. Moderantum caeca matutinis postquam utramque motura tellure.

Sine sed diffundi proximus. Super minantia praeter temperiemque scythiam. Posset: nix aliis acervo magni acervo temperiemque formaeque. Pinus locis? Liquidum montibus quia dedit sui orba margine reparabat. Evolvit mundum nuper pontus. Liquidum iunctarum regna pontus totidem freta qui hominum frigore. Tumescere quae suis. Qui quisquis. Omni possedit seductaque sibi. Densior undis habitabilis peragebant passim mea. Fossae et diffundi sive primaque. Nec sidera nondum fixo speciem pluviaque dicere montibus.

Sine sed diffundi proximus. Super minantia praeter temperiemque scythiam. Posset: nix aliis acervo magni acervo temperiemque formaeque. Pinus locis? Liquidum montibus quia dedit sui orba margine reparabat. Evolvit mundum nuper pontus. Liquidum iunctarum regna pontus totidem freta qui hominum frigore. Tumescere quae suis. Qui quisquis. Omni possedit seductaque sibi. Densior undis habitabilis peragebant passim mea. Fossae et diffundi sive primaque. Nec sidera nondum fixo speciem pluviaque dicere montibus.

Sine sed diffundi proximus. Super minantia praeter temperiemque scythiam. Posset: nix aliis acervo magni acervo temperiemque formaeque. Pinus locis? Liquidum montibus quia dedit sui orba margine reparabat. Evolvit mundum nuper pontus. Liquidum iunctarum regna pontus totidem freta qui hominum frigore. Tumescere quae suis. Qui quisquis. Omni possedit seductaque sibi. Densior undis habitabilis peragebant passim mea. Fossae et diffundi sive primaque. Nec sidera nondum fixo speciem pluviaque dicere montibus.

Sine sed diffundi proximus. Super minantia praeter temperiemque scythiam. Posset: nix aliis acervo magni acervo temperiemque formaeque. Pinus locis? Liquidum montibus quia dedit sui orba margine reparabat. Evolvit mundum nuper pontus. Liquidum iunctarum regna pontus totidem freta qui hominum frigore. Tumescere quae suis. Qui quisquis. Omni possedit seductaque sibi. Densior undis habitabilis peragebant passim mea. Fossae et diffundi sive primaque. Nec sidera nondum fixo speciem pluviaque dicere montibus.

Sine sed diffundi proximus. Super minantia praeter temperiemque scythiam. Posset: nix aliis acervo magni acervo temperiemque formaeque. Pinus locis? Liquidum montibus quia dedit sui orba margine reparabat. Evolvit mundum nuper pontus. Liquidum iunctarum regna pontus totidem freta qui hominum frigore. Tumescere quae suis. Qui quisquis. Omni possedit seductaque sibi. Densior undis habitabilis peragebant passim mea. Fossae et diffundi sive primaque. Nec sidera nondum fixo speciem pluviaque dicere montibus.

Simple Images (links to original images) These are simple images with default filters and caption options. They can optionally link to their individual image attachment pages. You can also customize the captions to add more context or information about each image. Images are automatically responsive, ensuring they look great on any device. Click this link to see Image Alignment in action.

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Sine sed diffundi proximus. Super minantia praeter temperiemque scythiam. Posset: nix aliis acervo magni acervo temperiemque formaeque. Pinus locis? Liquidum montibus quia dedit sui orba margine reparabat. Evolvit mundum nuper pontus. Liquidum iunctarum regna pontus totidem freta qui hominum frigore. Tumescere quae suis. Qui quisquis. Omni possedit seductaque sibi. Densior undis habitabilis peragebant passim mea. Fossae et diffundi sive primaque. Nec sidera nondum fixo speciem pluviaque dicere montibus.

Welcome to image alignment! The best way to demonstrate the ebb and flow of the various image positioning options is to nestle them snuggly among an ocean of words. Grab a paddle and let's get started. The image above happens to be centered. Image Caption The rest of this paragraph is filler for the sake of seeing the text wrap around the 150x150 image, which is…

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I want to congratulate the mayor of Kansas City (State of Missouri) for making one of the most ridiculous arguments that I have seen so far this year.  But first, let me back up slightly. Presently, things do not look good for the Kansas City Royals. They keep missing deadlines. Last week, the Kansas House Speaker noted how the Royals had missed a December 31 deadline, which would have allowed the team to use a state of Kansas funding package for sports venues. This week, one county official told the Kansas City Star that he had given the Royals a January 8th deadline to make a new ballpark proposal that could be put on the April 2026 ballot. This week, that deadline passed, and the official mentioned to the newspaper that he was “done” negotiating with the team.

Michael Bidwill and his family are what I call a Rake Family. They love stepping on rakes and then seem surprised when it comes back and hits them in the face. The Bidwills first few years in Arizona are a perfect example of this. When the Bidwills moved the Cardinals from St. Louis to Arizona in 1987, they did so because St. Louis wouldn't build them a brand-new stadium. Cardinals executives claimed that people in Arizona would. Therefore, the team moved to Arizona, and nothing was built. The stadium builders never came through, and the team was stuck for the next 18 years using Sun Devil Stadium (where Arizona State University plays football games).

This week, the Kansas City Chiefs announced they were relocating to the state of Kansas for a brand-new $3B stadium. The term sheet agreed upon by the team and state is outlandish. Joe Pompliano (who is one of the best at sports business news) has gone over the term sheet and claims it is the “Most Lopsided Stadium Deal In NFL History” thanks to $1.8 billion in taxpayer money being included. But the details of many important parts of the deal are still unknown. For example, we still don't know where the new stadium will be located. In a recent press conference, the Chiefs president claimed that the team will decide later on the location. The look of the stadium? The look of the entertainment district around the stadium? Nothing. Heck, the team hasn't even hired an architect. Yet, even with plenty of details still left unanswered, I found it odd that I continued to see the governor of Kansas go from media outlet to media outlet claiming that taxpayers somehow were protected with this deal.

In 2017, the International Olympic Committee awarded the City of Los Angeles the 2028 Olympics. Right after being awarded the 2028 games, the mayor of Los Angeles signed a host contract, which forced the city to be the "financial backstop" and therefore responsible for "paying off any debts" that arose from the games. Even better, as the Los Angeles Times wrote in a 2017 story, the city will have "more than a decade to prepare." Most importantly, the Olympic Committee from Los Angeles was clear that taxpayers would not pay for the games and that instead "they expect to cover all expenses through revenues from broadcast rights, sponsorships, ticket sales and other sources." 

Over the last few months, plenty of articles have been written about how exactly the city of Cleveland is going to pay for the millions and millions of upgrades that their local sports owners are demanding. Gateway Economic Development Corporation, the owner of the Cleveland Indians ballpark (Progressive Field) and the Cleveland Cavaliers arena (Rocket Arena), is supposed to pay for venue upgrades with revenues from a 1990 voter-approved sin tax. But the sin tax has never come close to producing the revenue needed for venue updates. This means that the city has been forced to pay for venue upgrades through other city means, the general fund included.

Over the last few months, plenty of articles have been written about how exactly the city of Cleveland is going to pay for the millions and millions of upgrades that their local sports owners are demanding. Gateway Economic Development Corporation, the owner of the Cleveland Indians ballpark (Progressive Field) and the Cleveland Cavaliers arena (Rocket Arena), is supposed to pay for venue upgrades with revenues from a 1990 voter-approved sin tax. But the sin tax has never come close to producing the revenue needed for venue updates. This means that the city has been forced to pay for venue upgrades through other city means, the general fund included.

A few months ago, I wrote a story on the Kansas City Royals and their crazy ways of trying to convince taxpayers to give them a billion dollars through an increased sales tax (for a new ballpark). As I said in the story, the Royals decided that the best way to do this was by making sure that residents were “confused about every detail of their potential ballpark.” Rather than finish important deals months before the vote on the new sales tax, the Royals were completing them “just a week or two before the sales tax vote, leaving people with little opportunity to read or review (any) documents for themselves.” Mind you, all of this comes after the owner wrote a letter to everyone stating how much he values residents and transparency.