In ancient Rome, government attempted to curry favor with the masses by offering free bread and circuses. Today, we have sports pork. How sad that taxpayers are continually asked to pay for new stadiums. Public dollars are being used as corporate welfare to subsidize a private-sector business. The only real beneficiaries of these expenditures are team owners and their players, who earn far more than the average fan.
It is impossible to judge the amount of new economic activities that these so-called public benefits will generate. Between selling the stadium name, season sky boxes and reserve seating, cable, television and radio revenues, concession refreshment and souvenir sales along with rental income for other sports, rock concerts and commercial events, it is hard to believe that the Islanders hockey team owner and Belmont Park developers can’t finance the proposed new stadium on their own.
Professional sports are not an essential service and should not qualify for government subsidy. Scarce taxpayer funds would be better spent elsewhere. If this is going to be such a great financial deal, why don’t team owners float their own bonds or issue stock to finance the Belmont Park stadium rather than turn to taxpayers and government for support? Go obtain loans from banks, like medium and small businesses.
Real business people believe in capitalism and build companies on their own. How sad that some don’t want to do it the old-fashioned way by sweat and hard work. They are looking for shortcuts in the form of huge subsidies at taxpayers’ expense and favors from elected officials. What is the cost of improved sewer, water, electrical, road, traffic signal and other infrastructure improvements? There is also increased fire, police and sanitation services. How much will taxpayers be on the hook to pick up the tab?
The formal environmental review process for the overall Belmont Park Islanders Arena will not start until March 2018. It may take up to 15 months or until June 2019 for completion. Next there is a procurement process for hiring construction contractors. Perhaps construction could start in the fall of 2019 rather than Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s original Jan. 2018 promise. Construction could easily take two to three years. As a result, the original plan for the Islanders’ first season at Belmont Arena in 2020-2021 will be delayed at a minimum to 2021-2022, but could be 2022-2023
The Belmont Park arena project promises all sorts of service options which are already available all over Nassau County. Do we really need another “retail village” with various stores and boutiques? They also propose to offer new dining options, sports bars and restaurants. Next, there will be conference centers and meeting rooms along with movie theaters and concert facilities. All of these so-called benefits would just compete against existing shopping malls, upscale stores, restaurants and sports bars, and end up stealing some of their customers. There are already plenty of hotels and colleges which offer conference centers. The same is true for movie theaters and smaller more intimate concert facilities.
Since there are less than 60 Islanders’ home games, the facility will have to be leased out for another 100 events to turn a profit. Why would any rock band appear there, when they can go to Jones Beach Theater, Westbury Music Fair, Nassau Coliseum, Shea Stadium, Arthur Ash Stadium, Forest Hills Stadium, Madison Square Garden, Barclay Arena or Radio City Music Hall? The same is true for World Wrestling Federation, circuses, college sports or other events requiring space for several thousand participants.
Promised improvements for the existing Long Island Rail Road Belmont Park station to accommodate many of the up to anticipated 18,000 Islander game attendees are years away from becoming a reality. MTA Chairman Joe Lhota said his agency must first perform a planning study. This would be followed by design, engineering and construction. Just as I previously wrote, he also agreed with me that there is no current capacity at Penn Station to support new Belmont Park service.
Check out Cuomo’s proposed April 1, 2018 through March 31, 2019 $168.2 billion budget. There is no line item to provide the MTA LIRR with additional funding for this project. These non-existent dollars would have to be amended into the current MTA $32 billion 2014-2019 Five Year Capital Plan for supporting design and engineering, let alone construction of any future Belmont Park LIRR Intermodal Transportation Center.
Most likely these funds to appear within the proposed next MTA 2020-2024 Five Year Capital Plan. MTA HQ, Planning, Operating and Finance along with LIRR staff, are already working behind the scene to develop this document. Many of the proposed 2020-2024 Five Year Capital Program projects and programs will come from the MTA 2014-2034 Twenty Year Long Term Capital Needs Assessment report. Both the current MTA Five Year Capital Plan and Twenty Year Capital Needs reports are available on the MTA web site. They make great reading.
Perhaps there are better uses for the existing Belmont Park than building a new home for the Islanders’ hockey team.
Larry Penner
Great Neck
(Larry Penner is a transportation historian and advocate who previously worked 31 years for the United States Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration Region 2 New York Office.)
