The Knoxville Baseball Stadium Is Moving Ahead, Darn It
[This is my latest letter to the editor of the Knoxville News Sentinel. I submitted it on 18 November 2021 and it has not been published so far. Curiously, hardly any letters on the subject of the publicly funded but privately controlled stadium-to-be have been published. I would bet that that is not because people are not submitting them. There have, however, been various op-eds talking up the stadium…..]
The Sports Authority, Knox County, and Knoxville in quick succession approved the construction of a baseball stadium for Mr. Boyd. Not surprising: it was clear from the beginning that the fix was in. The politically savvy Mr. Boyd lined up influential supporters among legislators, city councilpeople, etc., long before the stadium plan was revealed to the public.
Per the News Sentinel, control of construction, including design aspects, seems to be entirely in Mr. Boyd’s group’s hands, not in those of the city, county, or Sports Authority, and the construction contract is no-bid. The SA appears to exist only to rubberstamp the plans, sign checks, and provide cover. Mr. Boyd promises all kinds of jobs and tax revenue, but who will control the choice of, e.g., the food vendors at the stadium? Who gets the house cut of what they take in? Surely it should be the city and county (who will own the stadium), not Mr. Boyd, but nobody will be surprised to find the team getting a large cut.
As to other activities at the stadium, does anybody doubt that a long-scheduled children’s event or soccer game would be cancelled if the Smokies made it into the playoffs and needed the stadium?
News Sentinel reporting on the cost seesaws between $65M and $75M. There has been no mention of the $20M for infrastructure for a long time and little mention of the $13M the state put into the Sports Authority to get things started. This loosey-goosey treatment of the potential costs is very suspicious.
Why doesn’t Mr. Boyd build the stadium himself? Could it be because paying rent limits his exposure should the projected revenues and taxes not pan out? Supposedly he will pay for any overruns, but we cynics doubt that he will or that the project will eventually pay for itself.
