Comments on: Charlotte Council approves plan to give Panthers $125 million

By: dallascowboysdishingthereal

dallascowboysdishingthereal — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 17:34:34 +0000

Richardson has played the move to L.A. card for everything he can get out of that poor city while serving up a losing team.

By: thesportsguy52

thesportsguy52 — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 23:09:25 +0000

Baltimore STILL deserved a team between them AND Jacksonville-by far. And maybe Houston, but I won’t go there. I remember when Tagliabue took Jerry Richardson’s advice and agreed “maybe Baltimore should just build some museums instead.” 5 years later we have our ring and the best playoff win percentage in NFL history. How are CAR and JAX doin lately?

By: britishraven

britishraven — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 22:56:19 +0000

In the UK, if a team wants a new stadium, it pays for everything and the council/government make them improve the surrounding infrastructure. Sure, the council might give them some land and contribute a bit (if it’s for the benefit of local schools etc) but it’s on the condition that they do things like improve railway stations, build new roads, build new sports fields etc. I cannot believe that billionaires are annually fleecing the US public for hundreds of millions of dollars so that they can build a new box for them and their buddies.

By: jgedgar70

jgedgar70 — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 21:35:30 +0000

ghlatty says:
Jan 15, 2013 3:19 PM
Lots of teams get incentives not to move and that’s fine, but what necessitates a closed door hearing?? I imagine they were trying to avoid the public spectacle that Minnesota went through last year. But since the state legislature has to approve the tax hike, the Charlotte council will probably have some state wide ‘splainin to do.
_____
This is normal. A group wanting tax money has a private meeting with city council, and if they like your idea, it gets put on an upcoming council meeting agenda, which is public and allows anyone who wishes to sign up in advance and make comments on the issue. I’m sure there will be plenty of debate on this one. The state legislature probably won’t debate it very much, since it’s a tax that is only in 1 municipality and requires no financial committment from state funds. I suspect the Panthers will get the money.

By: cags777

cags777 — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 21:31:57 +0000

If you’re going to vote on something like this, make these meetings open to the public. There is no excuse for this vote to be in a closed door session.

By: MyTeamsAllStink

MyTeamsAllStink — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 21:29:14 +0000

What are we doing wrong?

The Maloofs

By: secretomen00

secretomen00 — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 21:20:26 +0000

i thought republicans believe in limited gov’t and handouts.

By: firstvictory

firstvictory — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 21:15:53 +0000

@crosberries

have you ever been to Charlotte or left your hometown for that matter? Charlotte is a net contributor to the state’s economy and the state is one of the few net contributors to the national economy. it’s cheaper to live here, and salaries reflect that. Charlotte and Raleigh are two of nation’s top 5 fastest growing metro areas. i’d say we have something figured out “down here.”

enjoy your cold winter.

By: rcali

rcali — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 20:44:35 +0000

So there are only 2 people on the city council who were not paid off? Good for them.

How Richardson and Morrison can sleep at night is beyond me.

By: jbcommonsense

jbcommonsense — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 20:33:36 +0000

How does Charlotte’s offer to kick in $125 million compare with the St. Lois group ”Civic Progress’s” offer to the Rams?

By: kelsey412

kelsey412 — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 20:32:38 +0000

Just insane. This country is almost broke. People getting tax to death. When will it end. Not even a loan? Just giving them the money. At last glance theNFL is a multi billion industry. This must stop. Wake up or r kids will not have a life to look forward to

By: evilmajortom

evilmajortom — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 20:26:16 +0000

That’s it. I’m changing my stance on public financing from yay to nay.

By: crosberries

crosberries — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 20:24:37 +0000

What a great idea! Lets use taxpayer money so the owners of the panthers can become richer. Glad they have everything figured out down there like what they pay teachers for a salary.

By: pantherfan550

pantherfan550 — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 20:20:00 +0000

This is good to see. A small price to pay for stadium improvements and the security of the team staying here for the foreseeable future. Even though I doubt they would have ever seriously left for L.A.

By: ghlatty

ghlatty — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 20:19:55 +0000

Lots of teams get incentives not to move and that’s fine, but what necessitates a closed door hearing?? I imagine they were trying to avoid the public spectacle that Minnesota went through last year. But since the state legislature has to approve the tax hike, the Charlotte council will probably have some state wide ‘splainin to do.

By: larrybrown43

larrybrown43 — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 20:14:46 +0000

Good to see all the rich and powerful, less government guys, manipulating for handouts when it benefits them.