http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6080044/ I know some of you tape the Department of Commerce press conferences and watch them later.......... It's too bad that Cleveland did not get an MLS team. We could post this on MLS Rivalries. For those posters like, um, me who are lobbying for taxpayer-funded stadiums for your MLS team; let this be a lesson. Cleveland is probably down a billion dollars or so after paying for places for the Browns, Indians and Cavs. If pro sports stadiums are such engines of economic growth, shouldn't Cleveland be rich? Nope, they're flat broke like Miami; who has also funded stadiums for pro sports teams. Finally, can anyone find this study on census.gov ? I surfed around there & I never did find it.
I'm no expert on Cleveland, but friends have told me that that the baseballpark has revitalized a terrible area. Maybe things would have been alot worse without it. Maybe the city is broke because of the leadership of losers like Kucinich. San Francisco's PacBell park has totally transformed a large decrepit area. All the city did was donate the land, it must have been a tremendous bargain. Of course, San Francisco is swimming is so much money that even their nuts running the government can't screw it up.
This has nothing to do with the stadium, which actually did revitalize a crappy part of downtown. This has a lot more to do with the fact that Cleveland is part of the rustbelt, and almost no one white lives in the actual city of Cleveland anymore. I have a feeling the numbers would radically change for greater Cleveland. To anyone who's been in East Cleveland, this is as much of a shock as Elton John's sexual orientation.
D'oh! I can't write, either. Pac Bell Park = Privately funded (or as privately funded as any pro sports stadium is these days.) Cleveland's stadiums = mostly taxpayer funded
Back in 1997, Hong Kong experienced an incident of "white flight", and they are still doing OK. The article says that Miami is #3 in terms of poverty, and Miami is not in the rust belt. Mildew belt?
Similar topic on NPR today concerning San Diego (the 6th richest city?) and their debt via illegal dealings stealing from the city's retirement funds. Anyone hear it?
Yeah, I had heard something about wacky dealings in America's Finest City. But any pension scam would pale in comparison to that "deal" to pay the Chargers for unsold tickets. You mentioned that San Diego is the 6th richest city. Did you find the "raw data" on the census website? If so, do you have a URL?