Field of Schemes

Fieldofschemes.com serves as the online partner to the book Field of Schemes: How the Great Stadium Swindle Turns Public Money Into Private Profit, authored by Joanna Cagan and Neil deMause. Since its inception in 1998, the website has focused on scrutinizing the approximately $2 billion annually allocated in public funds for the construction of new professional sports venues.

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Friday roundup: DC hires same clown consultants for Commanders deal who screwed up DC United math

3 weeks ago | fieldofschemes.com | Neil deMause |personNeil deMause

Before we get to the weekly news roundup, a commenter asked me a question yesterday — I mean, I think they may actually have been trying to troll me, but it was in the form of a question — about how it could be better for Missouri to risk the Kansas City Chiefs moving to Kansas and losing all the tax revenue that comes with games.
Ohio senate wants to pay for Browns, Bengals stadiums by using money from uncashed state checks

3 weeks ago | fieldofschemes.com | Neil deMause |personNeil deMause

The Ohio state senate has a new plan for funding a Cleveland Browns stadium, and it’s neither Gov. Mike DeWine’s plan to use increased taxes on sports gambling nor legislative leaders’ plans to siphon off taxes on spending at a new facility and kick them back to the team — not exactly, anyway.
Missouri senate agrees in middle of night to spend $1B+ on Chiefs and Royals stadiums in exchange for tornado relief, other goodies

3 weeks ago | fieldofschemes.com | Neil deMause |personNeil deMause

After spending most of yesterday not meeting and instead haggling behind the scenes, the Missouri state senate finally reconvened its special session last night and then voted at 2:30 am to approve Gov. Mike Kehoe’s stadium subsidy bill. The vote was 19-13, with seven of the senate’s 10 Democrats joining 12 of its 24 Republicans in favor.
Missouri committee okays stadium funding bill, Chiefs, Royals lobbyists noncommittal about staying put

3 weeks ago | fieldofschemes.com | Neil deMause |personNeil deMause

Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe’s bill to pay for half the cost of all future MLB and NFL stadium construction and major renovations passed the state senate fiscal oversight committee 6-3 yesterday, setting up a vote of the full senate, where the legislation faces stiffer opposition.
Chiefs, Royals stadium subsidies may come down to tax cuts for rich, whether rainbow flags are bad for children

3 weeks ago | fieldofschemes.com | Neil deMause |personNeil deMause

We’re now one day into the Missouri legislature’s special session to discuss Kansas City Chiefs and Royals stadium subsidies (plus stuff like tornado relief that legislators might demand as tradeoffs for approving stadium subsidies), and here’s where things stand, roughly in order of least to most LOL:Democratic Senate minority leader Doug Beck said his caucus is willing to consider Gov.
Amid Bears subsidy opposition, Fire owner vows to pay for own Chicago stadium (maybe, sorta)

3 weeks ago | fieldofschemes.com | Neil deMause |personNeil deMause

So much going on of late with the Chicago Bears stadium plans! If, that is, by “so much” you mean team execs getting multiple doors slammed in their face by the state legislature, which adjourned over the weekend without taking action on any of three bills that the team wanted to help fund a new stadium, either in Arlington Heights or somewhere.
“Where will Kansas City’s teams move?” How media framing boosts stadium shakedowns

3 weeks ago | fieldofschemes.com | Neil deMause |personNeil deMause

Today we’re going to talk about framing, one of the key methods that journalism has for turning a set of facts into a coherent story. Framing shows up first and foremost in the headline, which attempts to boil down an often complex set of events into one short phrase; but it also continues into the story itself, where reporters and editors have to choose which elements to highlight and what they want readers to take away from the article.
Friday roundup: How real is the threat of a Royals or Chiefs move to Kansas, and other pressing questions

4 weeks ago | fieldofschemes.com | Neil deMause |personNeil deMause

Happy zeroth anniversary of that time we decided to all die of bird flu! It’s a fitting way to go out, honestly.
Bengals execs say never mind state money, just stuff whatever cash the county can find into this bag, please

1 month ago | fieldofschemes.com | Neil deMause |personNeil deMause

The Cincinnati Bengals lease and stadium negotiations are getting even weirder. When last we left off, you will recall, Hamilton County commissioners were proposing a $1.2 billion stadium renovati0n, with no clear idea where the money would come from, in exchange for team owners the Brown family not renewing their super-sweetheart lease this June and instead signing a new one that would presumably be less-sweetheart.
KC mayor says he could extend rental car tax to fund Royals stadium, that’s basically free money, right?

1 month ago | fieldofschemes.com | Neil deMause |personNeil deMause

One underreported element of the Show Me Sports Investment Act — Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe’s plan to siphon off state tax money to create a fund to pay for 50% of the cost of all future new stadiums and major stadium upgrades — is that it also requires additional spending by local governments in order for team owners to tap into the state funding.