[ardecila]

I just don't understand how we can accept such rampant levels of government spending on a private enterprise. A 20 year replacement cycle is absolutely absurd. No private company would do this kind of wasteful spending - it can only happen on the backs of taxpayers.

Something is fundamentally broken when the only uncontroversial strategy for urban development is to spend nearly a billion dollars to benefit a private corporation. It was one thing in the era of multi-purpose stadiums - they sucked for the fans, but at least cities got their money's worth by scheduling multiple sports teams and using land efficiently. Now that every team needs their own stadium to "brand", it's gotten absolutely out of control.