By Roldo Bartimole
What absolute gall. Ask for $120 million but refuse to answer questions.
Up yours, paying public. Up yours, says Jimmy Haslam and the boys.
Haslam, dodging indictments, comes to Cleveland wanting the city to provide another $120 million — much of it for non-essential gimmickry that however is revenue-producing for Haslam — after he just walked away with $100 million in naming rights on the city-owned stadium.
What utter gall. The media greets these chiselers with velvet gloves.
The city/county will have to borrow so the true costs will maybe $150-175 million. Without overruns.
Billionaire Haslam doesn’t pay any property taxes to the schools, city or county on the stadium, which sits on city land he got free. But the city does pay property taxes on the lakefront land.
And Mayor Frank Jackson apparently goes along. In fact, he already, according to the PD, said he supports the planned improvements. Discussions awaited.
Jackson actually voted AGAINST the original legislation for the Browns Stadium.
Yeah, he didn’t believe taxpayers should pony up then. I talked with him that night. Now, there’s a man with backbone, I thought. There’s a man with principle. Indeed, under pressure that night Jackson refused to give Mayor Mike White the 14th vote he needed to allow the legislation to take effect immediately. As White wanted.
Now the same (he looks the same at least) Jackson is all for the Haslam Grab.
What’s changed? Frank Jackson has.
The Councilman who proudly showed himself as the man of and with the people is now Mayor and patsy of the rich. A toady to power.
A corrupted progeny of Lonnie Burten. He knows what I mean.
The mayor has to know that he lives on a street where there are people who can’t afford to even eat adequately.
But he’ll take their pennies, nickels and dimes of sales taxes to pay for Tennessean’s Cleveland plaything. And he’ll allow the property taxes Haslam should pay to the Cleveland schools to go to Tennessee. Likely to help pay off gypped truck drivers. Trying to stay out of jail, you know.
Jackson, Haslam and most of the news media are taking the Suckers (otherwise known as citizens of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County) for a ride. Again.
The Plain Dealer reported:
“Browns CEO Joe Banner declined to discuss financing during a news conference Wednesday afternoon…”
Then it wasn’t really a news conference. It was an announcement conference. All the dutiful reporters apparently accepted this bullshit and now expect us to eat it too. Just swallow.
At the same time Cuyahoga County’s bond rating was lowered. County Councilman David Greenspan spanked County Executive Ed Fitzgerald for trying to keep the bad news private.
The big question should be – what effect this might have not only on the stadium subsidy borrowing but the bonds for the 600 room hotel the county wants to build and keep – surely at a loss on both desires.
The rating service blamed population loss. Cleveland dropped to fewer than 400,000 and the County dropped more than 100,000 over the last decade.
Worse, the unemployment claims here continue to rise. George Zeller, the keeper of the data, reports this week that Cuyahoga County new unemployment was 1,164 “unfortunately”… “well above” 840 normal at this time of year.
So Mr. Jackson and Mr. Haslam, you’re going to have to squeeze harder on the fewer people with jobs. It won’t hurt the well-off because it’s coming in pennies, nickels and dimes.
Councilman Jeff Johnson (has he awoken?) decried the taxes for the stadium being restricted to Cuyahoga County (as the sin taxes are) though they’re not the only taxes subsidizing the Haslam stadium. The tax should be spread to a six-county area from which the Browns attract fans. Indeed, the Browns should be forced to reveal where the paying fans live.
Here are some details of the financing already in place for the stadium, used about or less than a dozen times a year:
1990s – CITY VOTED TAXES FOR BROWNS STADIUM & EXPECTED REVENUE OVER 30 YEARS:
DOWNTOWN PARKING 8% TAX $213,000,000
ADMISSION TAX HIKE $36,000,000
CAR RENTAL TAX $18,000,000
SIN TAX – 10 YEAR EXTEND $116,000,000
And here are gift facts on stadium as I’ve previously reported:
BROWNS STADIUM – Financing
EXTENDED SIN TAX $110,682,300 (COLLECTED AS OF MARCH 2013)
STATE OF OHIO $37,050,000 RTA CONTRIBUTION $3,000,000 CITY – WATER DIV. $2,000,000 N.E SEWER DIST. $2,246,760 TAX EXEMPT COST $240,000,000 (About $8 million annual 30 yrs.) FREE USE OF CITY LAND – 2012 VALUE: $19,007,400 PRESENT YEARLY LAND TAX PAID BY CITY – $646,922.84 ON $19 MILLION VALUE ANNUAL TAX LOSS TO CLEVELAND SCHOOLS ON STADIUM – $375,214
(I don’t have current figures for what Clevelanders are paying on bonds for the football stadium. However, by May 2009 the city had paid $102,823,947 and still owed $160,367,109 for bonds, according to city refinancing documents in 2007. Payments extend to November 2027.)
This is a hell-of-a grand theft. Better than scamming truck drivers.
These guys are all con men.
I’ll always remember Bernie Parrish’s description of Art Modell when he played for the Browns:
“Whenever I was getting that horrible shot (Novocain for pain) I would imagine Art Modell counting the crowd, smiling and laughing as he and the Governor sipped pregame martinis high up in the Stadium Club, where players (and I might add taxpayers) aren’t invited.”
If you want to know the truth about NFL owners, Parrish’s 1971 book, They Call it a Game, runs on truth.
Roldo Bartimole has been reporting since 1959. He came to Cleveland in 1965 to report for the Plain Dealer where he worked twice in the 1960s, left for the Wall Street Journal in 1967. He started publishing his newsletter Point of View in 1968 and ended it in 2000.In 1991 he was awarded the Second Annual Joe Callaway Award for Civic Courage in Washington, D.C. He received the Distinguished Service Award of the Society of Professional Journalists, Cleveland chapter, in 2002, and was named to the Cleveland Journalism Hall of Fame, 2004. [Photo by Todd Bartimole.]
7 Responses to “ROLDO: Has Jackson Turned His Back on Lonnie’s Legacy?”
Paul
Roldo,
Are you going to issue a retraction? What you suggest above is not how the deal actually came down.
Clearly you don’t understand business. I doubt you’ve never had to make a payroll, lease a production facility, or hire employees. You’ve also never had the joy of discovering a great employee, mentoring someone’s professional career and watching their life change, or the community impact of employing dozens of people. Trust me, knowing that you’ve actually helped people make a living, pay their bills, support their families and achieve their goals- it’s much more satisfying than writing variations on the same words for decades.
As such, you wouldn’t understand that it is standard for a landlord to participate in renovations and upgrades of leased space. The City of Cleveland owns the stadium. If you have issue with that than your columns should be about city council, the mayor, and the citizens who elect them. Put the blame where it lies. If you really want to make a change in this city and region, the politics must change. If you focused your energies on who was elected, the poor quality of the candidates, and the questionable decision making of the citizenry in voting for them, you might actually effect change. But then you’d eventually be out of work.
Westside Sue
I’m tired of getting ripped off. Yet, they keep wondering why it is so hard to get people to “come” to Cleveland.
Roldo Bartimole
Thanks for comments. I sent this information to a number of reporters, print and TV.
It is the parcel number of sports facilities and their value for property
taxes, which they don’t pay. Lets see if any of it gets examined and reported:
Progressive Field: 101-33-002. Last exempted value I got from County: $172,200,00 value (bldg. only)
Quicken Arena: 101-28-040. Last exempted value I got from County: $134,600,000 (bldg. only)
Browns Stadium: 101-02-014. Last exempted value from County $285,000,000. (bldg. only)
Land for the Browns valued a $15,966,200 with city paying taxes each year.
b
ONE way to send a message….BUY LESS (IF can),buy cheaper or buy across County line…Goood luck there trying to tax Internet…MAYBE someday but.
DONT patronize SPORTS STUFF….SERIOUSLY…”ARE” OTHER things….gasp,..SERIOUSLY!? “REALLyyy’. Dang…GONNA take a LOT more then some FANCY INSANELY HUGE electronic scoreboards,etc.let alone rest of it to begin to turn tide of well ANYWAYS lackluster results….HASLAM may YET pull off miracles,etc.and City sees the NEAR “coming of God or parting of the sea” but I wouldn’t count on it…QUITE FRANKLY after LEBRON LEAVING I would have THOUGHT THAT would SOUR the mood and then some but guess not….
SPORTS crew will get their $…maybe not whole thing but…IF ANY consolation thou IF DOWNTOWN biz crew keeps ruling the roost EVENTUALLY MORE investigations,”rolling”,etc.will occur..I COULD be wrong on that…HAPPENED BEFORE…as we JUST went thru…EXPENSIVE way of getting rid of people.. SUSPECT good ol CH n CC worried bout SERIOUS hi cost skyscrapers and rest going belly up financially and guess WHO gets stuck with THAT…. ED? IF want any weird sick twisted justice of sorts…I DONT think He is gonna make it to Gov Mansion….BUT never say never….I HONESTLY do NOT think HE can sell ‘the program’ thru rest of OHIO but I COULD be wrong…
EDUCATION thing….GOT feeling help some FAVED private operators,CONTROL CTU costs,etc.and life goes on….unless someone is into specific skills training for specific industries that are performing halfway decently WHY bother…got underground economy to rest of it…HEAR THAT magic ‘chant’ all the time…BASICALLY dopeslap some poo slob,cram a broom in their hands and shove em off to do some work at some slum shop or ghetto store or whatever and pick em up at end of the day …
BEST thing that can do…LEVEL worst of wrecks in city,area…fling BIRTHcontrol around like it is confetti…..Tooo poor across board to pay for cops,legalbegals,etc. Quite frankly burbs AND ESPECIALLy the fleeing rich cant,wont deal with it….IF any consolation if whole thing shoveled onto Columbus THEY go insane with it all…..some solace in THAT thought somewhere….
AND SURROUNDING COUNTIES cackling their heads off at Cuyahoga and CLEVELAND for allowing all this….LEAST got GOOD stuff like METROHEALTH HOSPITAL, museums,etc.etc. thou if can believe THe Post the free flier out there THEY don’t think soooo…to each their own…
b
Public square…I hear n read what saying…PERSONALLY THINK in a warped way BEST thing for blacks,REST of us…AVOID CORPORATE CUBICLE CRUD CULTURE CRAP CONUNDRUM…. nice park to go to on a nice day to GET OUT OF THE OFFICE til time to go home or whatever….WHO wants to tangle with army of CPD,rest of it who ARE JUST RIGHT UP the street….SERIOUSLY…INSANE traffic lockgrid anyways…..
b
LOWER bond rating….LESS stuff CAN do…A WIN of sorts….
Roldo Bartimole
Paul – It is you that doesn’t understand.
What landlord builds = at no cost to the tenant – a place of business?
The city built a $300 million plus place of business and allows the
team owner to take all revenues and pay, with no increase over 30
years, $250,000, which doesn’t even cover the city’s payment of
property taxes on the land. Meanwhile, the city has relieved the property
of all property taxes on the actual building.
It isn’t so much politicians that do this. It is corporate interests
in the city, and many others, that devise the means and promote
the necessity to provide massive welfare to it buddies.
And they will be asking for more in the new year, an extending
of the sin taxes for 20 more years, after having extended them for
10 years after the original 15 years.
Please use some common sense.