The Stadium Scam—Las Vegas by Stop the Stadium Scam

the stadium scam.

las vegas

Few things bring cities together in excitement and joy as much as sports teams. Few things destroy those good feelings as much as opportunistic owners blackmailing the people. Since 1990, owners and their corporate backers have been squeezing taxpayers to the tune of over $30 billion for stadium construction.1 It’s a gargantuan waste of money—funneling funds that could be spent on housing, health care or other essential public services to the wealthiest members of society. Some egregious examples include: MIAMI, where a $91 million stadium loan turned into $1.2 billion of public cost2 MILWAUKEE, where the governor replaced $250 million in higher education spending with a handout to hedge fund billionaires3 ST. LOUIS, where debt will be owed through 2021 for a team that no longer plays there4

Multimillionaires and billionaires sell their stadium projects as goodwill efforts, but philanthropy is about giving, not taking. Fans, activists, journalists, economists, and public policy experts from all ideological backgrounds have been calling foul on the dishonest process for years.

it’s now time to take action. in the left margin, you can find helpful links for more in-depth explanations

Watch John Oliver break down the stadium scam in more detail click here to go to the links 1. Judith Grant Long, “Public-Private Partnerships for Major League Sports Facilities,” 82. 2. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/economic-time-machine/article1946635.html 3. https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2015-08-14/scott-walker-s-misguided-milwaukee-bucks-stadium-deal 4.. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-sports-nfl-stadiums-insight-idUSKCN0VC0EP

photo by Fan Railer

stadiumscam@gmail.com

the stadium scam.

las vegas Over the past three decades, a stadium-building boom has overtaken professional sports. Fueled by the promise of urban renewal, local and state governments have partnered with franchise owners to finance lavish downtown developments for the hometown teams. But the premise of rejuvenating cities through publicly funded palaces is misleading and damaging.

Where could $750 million in taxpayer money be better spent? Education: Nevada ranked last among all 50 states in the Annie E. Casey Foundation educational rankings every year from 2012 to 2014. In 2015, Education Week ranked Nevada’s school system last in the nation. Housing: an epidemic of homelessness has caused people to seek shelter in tunnels beneath the Las Vegas Strip. Mental health: Nevada ranks 49th, according to a study by Mental Health America. Jobs: the state of Nevada ranked No. 1 in the United States for real unemployment in 2015. 1. http://www.forbes.com/lists/2006/54/biz_06rich400_ Sheldon-Adelson_ER9O.html 2. http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-politicseconomic-anxiety-20160219-story.html 3. http://www.nasbo.org/sites/default/files/State%20 Expenditure%20Report%20%28Fiscal%202013-2015%29S. pdf 4. http://espn.go.com/blog/oakland-raiders/post/_/ id/14572/las-vegas-raiders-owner-mark-davis-seriousabout-move-to-sin-city 5. http://knpr.org/knpr/2016-05/stadium-debate-howmuch-are-taxpayers-willing-pay 6. http://www.techtimes.com/articles/29483/20150129/ heres-what-buy-today-apples-18-billion-quarterly-netprofit.htm

vegas in focus For several years, leaders at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas have floated the idea of building a new football stadium. In 2016, the plan has grown more ambitious thanks to the involvement of Las Vegas Sands Corp. CEO Sheldon Adelson, who at one point was the third-richest man in the United States.1 Teaming with Majestic Realty Co., Sands Corp. proposed construction of a $1.45 billion stadium with the hopes of luring an NFL team to Las Vegas. The proposal calls for $550-750 million in public funding through taxes on hotels and rental cars. In other words, two men worth roughly $30 billion combined— Adelson and Majestic Realty CEO Ed Roski—want money to come from the budget of a state among the hardest-hit by the recession.2 Spending for the Nevada government in fiscal year 2015 was approximately $10.8 billion, a fraction of Adelson and Roski’s total wealth.3 The proposal is gaining momentum due to the professed desire of NFL owner Mark Davis to move his Oakland Raiders to Las Vegas. Oakland, still paying off over $100 million in debt from its own stadium,4 is refusing to pony up public dollars for a new facility. The Raiders are thus threatening to relocate for the third time in the last 35 years. Las Vegas has long angled for a professional sports franchise, with Adelson and other wealthy individuals capitalizing on that hunger. Adelson also has an organ to publicize his interests—last year, he purchased the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the most widely-circulated newspaper in Nevada. Newspaper owners have long shared development goals with sports owners, as Neil deMause and Joanna Cagan have written. Adelson’s purchase of the Review-Journal and the paper’s subsequent editorializing in favor of his proposal provide the most explicit example yet. Las Vegas Sun publisher Brian Greenspun has also advocated for the stadium,5 though he acknowledges that the public should pay a smaller share of the cost.

$30+bil

public funds spent on pro stadiums since 1990 According to data from urban planning scholar Judith Grant Long

can also buy

food for almost 10

million starving children

stadiumscam@gmail.com

the stadium scam.

Learn more about TIF: Introducing Tax Increment Financing Case study on bankrupt Detroit getting fleeced by TIF John L. Smith, a longtime Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist who resigned after Adelson bought the paper, writes about the stadium boondoggle Jason Notte points out that the proposed $750 million public subsidy would be the largest in NFL history—in a city with a high concentration of extremely wealthy people

1. http://sntic.org/meeting/15/proposal/cavileer/vegassite%20locations%20final%20v2.pdf 2. https://lasvegassun.com/news/2016/apr/28/hopingto-attract-raiders-stadium-backers-go-befor/ 3. http://www.fieldofschemes.com/2016/04/29/11020/ davis-pledges-500m-toward-vegas-stadium-couldactually-ask-taxpayers-to-pay-entire-1-4b-cost/ 4. http://www.rgj.com/story/news/politics/2016/05/01/ ralston-reports-raiding-taxpayers-bring-silver-andblack/83734932/

a stacked deck $500mil

$550750mil

pledge from Mark Davis $200 mil NFL money, $300 mil directly from Davis

+ $200400mil

public funding

from Adelson + other private sources

= $1.45bil could rise beyond $2.1 bil1

devil in the details: tax increment ﬁnancing (TIF) The companies would also want a tax increment district in the area around the stadium. Details would still need to be ironed out, but Majestic executive Craig Cavileer said the district would help the stadium’s private backers get a return on their investment. -Las Vegas Sun2 This is potentially huge: “tax increment financing,” ... involves kicking back increased property and/or sales taxes from an area around a development project, to help pay the project’s costs... Adelson and Davis are looking at this as a way to provide a “return on investment,” that means it’s going to go to reimburse their $650 million in costs, not state taxpayers’ $750 million. In other words, if enough TIF money can be agreed on, the private costs could be as low as zero, with the entire $1.4 billion nut either provided by tourist taxes or by TIFs. 3 -Neil deMause, Fieldofschemes.com

As if there’s not enough salt in the wound, consider that the special taxing district also would reroute live entertainment tax money out of the general fund and – wait for it – contains an exemption for teams based in Nevada. ‘The Raiders franchise is proposing to play in a stadium financed in part by a tax from which the team is exempt by statute,” one lawyer explained. Such a deal. For them. And Adelson.” -Jon Ralston, Reno Gazette-Journal4

these three assume little risk

eld

o n a d els o

the public shoulders it.

n +ed roski, mark davis

Photo by East Coast Gambler, with modifications

stadiumscam@gmail.com

the stadium scam.

Economic studies on stadium funding: Professional Sports Facilities, Franchises and Urban Economic Development Do Economists Reach a Conclusion on Subsidies for Sports Franchises, Stadiums, and Mega-Events? The Economics of Sports Facilities and Their Communities Sports, Jobs, & Taxes: Are New Stadiums Worth the Cost? Economics of the Super Bowl

fact-checker CLAIM: A new stadium will drive economic growth. REALITY: Dennis Coates and Brad Humphreys, in a review of economic studies on stadiums (sidebar: Do Economists Reach a Conclusion): “There now exists almost twenty years of research on the economic impact of professional sports franchises and facilities in the local economy. The results in this literature are strikingly consistent. No matter what cities or geographical areas are examined, no matter what estimators are used, no matter what model specifications are used, and no matter what variables are used, articles published in peer reviewed economics journals contain almost no evidence that professional sports franchises and facilities have a measurable economic impact on the economy.” CLAIM: Public subsidies are necessary to pay for stadiums. REALITY: In a 2005 survey of randomly selected American Economic Association members, only five percent disagreed with the statement “local and state governments in the U.S. should eliminate subsidies to professional sports franchises.” 58 percent strongly agreed, and 28 percent agreed. A higher level of agreement existed on the stadium topic than any of the roughly 20 other questions in the survey.1 CLAIM: A new stadium will drive job growth. REALITY: The stadium could create jobs, but most will be temporary and/or low-paying. The presence of a stadium does nothing to diversify the local economy and actually can diminish the per-capita income of a region. CLAIM: A new stadium will attract new tourists. REALITY: Again, economic studies have repeatedly refuted the claim. It is a particularly absurd argument for Las Vegas, which is already a tourist magnet. A negligible amount of people would visit Las Vegas specifically due to football when 30 other cities have NFL teams. A stadium could even have a negative impact on tourism because the current plan relies upon hotel and rental car tax hikes. Even Mayor Carolyn Goodman, perhaps the strongest political proponent for the stadium, has raised concerns: “Can we afford an increase to the room tax so the tourists still keep coming here?”2 CLAIM: Sheldon Adelson is pushing the stadium as a philanthropic gift to Las Vegas. REALITY: At a meeting of the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee, Adelson employee Andy Abboud called the stadium a “get poor quick scheme” for his boss, who is a “philanthropic guy.” If demanding a record-setting public subsidy counts as philanthropy, it is the worst philanthropy in the history of mankind.

1. http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/ev.2006.3.9/ ev.2006.3.9.1156/ev.2006.3.9.1156.xml?format=INT 2. http://news3lv.com/news/local/las-vegas-raidersstadium-could-open-in-20203. https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=s818KLU6Dkg

CLAIM: A stadium will have intangible benefits for the city that aren’t captured in economic studies. REALITY: Sports indeed can foster civic pride, which is the most effective argument of stadium advocates. But civic pride should not be built at taxpayer expense on projects that can easily be funded by billionaires, who profit handsomely from them anyway.

stadiumscam@gmail.com

the stadium scam.

key players steve wynn

Las Vegas Sands Corp. CEO Las Vegas Review-Journal Owner Net worth: $26.7 billion* Spent nearly $100 million on 2012 election cycle and has pledged another $100 million to Donald Trump.

“get us a team”

Wynn Resorts CEO * Net worth: $2.8 billion Reportedly floated stadium idea to Adelson several years ago.

carolyn goodman

Ed Roski Majestic Realty Co. CEO Net worth: $4.4 billion* Behind failed attempt to bring NFL team to Los Angeles area. Attempted to buy Las Vegas Hilton in 2001. Mark Davis Oakland Raiders Owner Net worth: $500 million Attempted to move team to Los Angeles area — deal fell through when Rams secured move to LA.

jump to the full Nevada state representative contact list 1. http://www.reviewjournal.com/business/stadium/ raiders-pledge-move-las-vegas-potential-stadium-sitefar-settled 2. http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/15499905/lasvegas-mayor-carolyn-goodman-confident-oaklandraiders-relocate 3. http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/01/16/ the-man-who-owns-l-a

sheldon adelson

brian sandoval

Las Vegas Mayor (D) Strong advocate for bringing professional sports to Las Vegas. Told Adelson: “Get us a team.”2

Nevada Governor (R) Received $300,000 through PAC from Adelson in 2014 re-election bid.

Len Jessup UNLV President Wants stadium close to campus to “create the pathway for us to move to a Power Five conference.”1

*According to Forbes, as of June 15, 2016

Other players Roger Goodell: NFL Commissioner Dean Spanos: Chargers owner—team’s future in San Diego could affect Raiders’ relocation plans. Jerry Jones: Dallas Cowboys owner, influential voice on NFL relocation. Steve Sisolak: Clark County Commission chairman Steve Hill: Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee chairman Tim Leiweke: Anschutz Entertainment Group CEO, sidekick to “The Man Who Owns L.A.”3 David Beckham: ex-soccer star, helped Davis pitch stadium. Andy Abboud: Las Vegas Sands Senior VP of Government Relations and Community Development Craig Cavileer: Majestic Realty Executive VP Marc Badain: Oakland Raiders President

know who represents you: state senate

state assembly

Mark Hutchison: President of the Senate (R) Michael Roberson: Majority Leader (R) Aaron Ford: Minority Leader (D)

John Hambrick: Speaker of the House (R) Paul Anderson: Majority Leader (R) Teresa Benitez-Thompson: Minority Leader (D) stadiumscam@gmail.com

the stadium scam.

(Adel)Sin City

eld

o n a d els o

More coverage of Adelson’s ReviewJournal takeover: Why Did Sheldon Adelson Buy Nevada’s Biggest Paper? Sheldon Adelson tightens grip on Review-Journal Why I’m out at the Las Vegas ReviewJournal

Casino mogul Sheldon Adelson has a habit of buying institutions and political influence to further his personal interests. He dumped approximately $100 million of SuperPAC money into the 2012 election cycle and plans to do so again in 2016.1 He purchased the Las Vegas Review-Journal in a cloud of secrecy, and reports have already surfaced of him exerting editorial control. Now he wants Las Vegas to build a football stadium in the backyard of his business headquarters.

net worth

$26.7bil

“

Between me and the company, we have fourteen aircrafts -Sheldon Adelson2

NV State Budget 2015

$10.8bil

funding contribution private contribution

$200-400mil public contribution

$550-750mil

Timeline: Adelson and Las Vegas media (via Mother Jones, see sidebar) 12.10.15: GateHouse Media sells Review-Journal to News + Media Capital group 12.15.15: At GOP presidential debate hosted by his hotel, Adelson denies purchasing the paper 12.16.15: Adelson ownership is publicly confirmed 12.22.15: Top Review-Journal editor leaves paper 1.30.16: Review-Journal publishes editorial backing the Adelson stadium plan “We have an owner with pockets as deep as the Grand Canyon, and we're going to take advantage of that.”

1. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/14/us/politics/ sheldon-adelson-donald-trump.html?_r=0 2. https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=IK4UqiMYyG8#t=2m53s

-J. Keith Moyer, Adelson-installed editor of the Review-Journal

stadiumscam@gmail.com

the stadium scam.

essential reading Journalist Neil deMause covers stadium issues on his blog and has a book of the same title: http://fieldofschemes.com/ An investigation into the billions of tax-exempt bond dollars that have gone toward stadium funding: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-09-05/in-stadiumbuilding-spree-u-s-taxpayers-lose-4-billion A look at how much money has been spent on NFL stadiums in the past two decades: http://www.foxsports.com/nfl/story/nfl-new-stadiums-public-fundinghow-much-atlanta-san-diego-minnesota-los-angeles-033116 A case study in how the economic promise of stadium development can fail to meet expectations: http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/09/if-you-build-itthey-might-not-come-the-risky-economics-of-sports-stadiums/260900/ An analysis of how little say citizens have in the use of their money when it comes to stadiums: http://deadspin.com/no-one-wants-publicly-financed-stadiums-exceptthe-peop-1748487455 Alderwoman Megan Green (D) on the debate over a new stadium in St. Louis, MO: https://medium.com/@MeganEllyia/sometimes-leadership-meanssaying-no-c1020c867a4c#.vazl7hqta A look at the decimation of historic Atlanta neighborhoods for private development—with taxpayers picking up the bill: http://www.alternet.org/economy/black-communities-destroyedpublicly-funded-stadium-swindles-are-fighting-back-new-era

deMause on President Obama’s desire to end stadium subsidization and the tricky details behind getting it done: https://sports.vice.com/en_us/article/is-obama-really-going-to-killsports-stadium-subsidies A list of better ways to spend public money than on sports stadiums: http://thinkprogress.org/sports/2015/07/14/3680065/7-things-spent12-billion-instead-new-sports-stadiums/ Urban planning scholar Judith Grant Long’s book on public-private stadium partnerships: https://books.google.com/books/about/Public_private_Partnerships_ for_Major_Le.html?id=CbWTGMEGymAC NFL star Richard Sherman speaks out against public stadium funding: http://mynorthwest.com/310330/seahawks-richard-sherman-giveshis-presidential-pitch/

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A look at how Baltimore’s publicly funded baseball stadium became a symbol of racial and economic segregation: http://www.thenation.com/article/apartheid-games-baltimore-urbanamerica-and-camden-yards/ Inglewood, CA resident and journalist Erin Aubry Kaplan writes about the potential community challenges posed by a new football stadium: http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-oe-kaplan-inglewood-nflgentrification-20150113-story.html A senior fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute decries public funding for sports facilities: http://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/governmentfundedstadiums-not-worth-price-admission Americans for Prosperity, Charles and David Koch-founded advocacy group that has driven the Tea Party, questions taxpayer funding: https://americansforprosperity.org/the-true-economics-of-taxpayerfunded-stadiums/ stadiumscam@gmail.com

THE STADIUM SCAM

contact sheet Click here for info on Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee meetings Click here to locate your state assembly and senate districts Click here to find where your state legislator stands on the stadium plan

Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval (R) Carson City 775-684-5670 State Capitol Building 101 N. Carson Street Carson City, NV 89701 Las Vegas 702-486-2500 Grant Sawyer State Office Bdg 555 East Washington Ave, Ste 5100 Las Vegas, NV 89101 Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman (D) 702-229-6241 cgoodman@lasvegasnevada.gov City of Las Vegas 495 S. Main Street Las Vegas, NV 89101 Clark County Commissioner Steve Sisolak (D) 702-455-3500 ccdista@ClarkCountyNV.gov 500 S Grand Central Pkwy Las Vegas, Nevada 89155 STATE SENATE District 1 Pat Spearman (D) 702-706-5785 Pat.Spearman@sen.state.nv.us 5575 Simmons St. #1-174 North Las Vegas, NV 89031-9009 District 2 Moises Denis (D) 775-684-1431 Moises.Denis@sen.state.nv.us 3204 Osage Ave. Las Vegas, NV 89101-1838

District 3 Tick Segerblom (D) 702-388-9600 Tick.Segerblom@sen.state.nv.us 700 S. Third St. Las Vegas, NV 89101-6703 District 4 Kelvin Atkinson (D) Assistant Minority Leader 775-684-1429 Kelvin.Atkinson@sen.state.nv.us 4165 Fuselier Dr. North Las Vegas, NV 89032 District 5 Joyce Woodhouse (D) Co-Minority Whip Joyce.Woodhouse@sen.state.nv.us 246 Garfield Dr. Henderson, NV 89074-1027 702-896-1453 District 6 Mark Lipparelli (R) 775-684-1475 Mark.Lipparelli@sen.state.nv.us 401 S. Carson St. Carson City, NV 89701 District 7 David Parks (D) 702-736-6929 David.Parks@sen.state.nv.us P.O. Box 71887 Las Vegas, NV 89170-1887 District 8 Patricia Farley (R) 702-370-6649 Patricia.Farley@sen.state.nv.us 1930 Village Center Cir. #3-619 Las Vegas, NV 89134 District 9

Becky Harris (R) 702-324-0404 Becky.Harris@sen.state.nv.us P.O. Box 401146 Las Vegas, NV 89140 District 10 Ruben Kihuen 702-274-1707 Ruben.Kihuen@sen.state.nv.us P.O. Box 427 Las Vegas, NV 89125-0427 District 11 Aaron Ford (D) Minority Leader 702-772-5544 Aaron.Ford@sen.state.nv.us P.O. Box 96003 Las Vegas, NV 89193-6003 District 12 Joe Hardy (R) President Pro Tempore 702-293-7506 Joe.Hardy@sen.state.nv.us P.O. Box 60306 Boulder City, NV 89006-0306 District 13 VACANT District 14 Don Gustavson (R) 775-722-1278 Don.Gustavson@sen.state.nv.us P.O. Box 51601 Sparks, NV 89435-1601 District 15 VACANT District 16 Ben Kieckhefer (R) 775-223-9618 Assistant Majority Leader

Ben.Kieckhefer@sen.state.nv.us 10045 Goler Wash Court Reno, NV 89521-3029 District 17 James Settelmeyer (R) 775-450-6114 James.Settelmeyer@sen.state.nv.us 2388 Highway 395 Minden, NV 89423-8923 District 18 Scott Hammond (R) Co-Majority Whip 702-523-9055 Scott.Hammond@sen.state.nv.us 8408 Gracious Pine Avenue Las Vegas, NV 89143-4608 District 19 Pete Goicoechea (R) 775-237-5300 Pete.Goicoechea@sen.state.nv.us P.O. Box 97 Eureka, NV 89316-0097 District 20 Michael Roberson (R) Majority Leader 702-575-9112 Michael.Roberson@sen.state.nv.us P.O. Box 530940 Henderson, NV 89053-0940 District 21 Mark Manendo (D) 702-451-8654 Mark.Manendo@sen.state.nv.us 4030 Beisner Street Las Vegas, NV 89122-4634

THE STADIUM SCAM

contact sheet (pt. 2) STATE ASSEMBLY

Las Vegas, NV 89103-7006

District 1 VACANT

District 9 David Gardner (R) 775-684-8549 David.Gardner@asm.state.nv.us 9661 Waukegan Las Vegas, NV 89148-5744

District 2 John Hambrick (R) Assembly Speaker 702-242-8580 John.Hambrick@asm.state.nv.us 1930 Village Ctr Circle, Ste 3-419 Las Vegas, NV 89134-6245 District 3 Nelson Araujo (D) 702-900-2189 Nelson.Araujo@asm.state.nv.us P.O. Box 295 Las Vegas, NV 89125-0295 District 4 Michele Fiore (R) 702-210-8460 Michele.Fiore@asm.state.nv.us 9085 West Rosada Way Las Vegas, NV 89149-3556 District 5 VACANT District 6 Harvey Munford (D) 702-646-4265 Harvey.Munford@asm.state.nv.us 809 Sunny Place Las Vegas, NV 89106-3637 District 7 Dina Neal (D) 702-738-5870 Dina.Neal@asm.state.nv.us 3217 Brautigan Court North Las Vegas, NV 89032-6030 District 8 John Moore (L) 702-482-7676 John.Moore@asm.state.nv.us 5155 W. Tropicana Ave, No. 2020

3135 South Mojave Road Unit 227 Las Vegas, NV 89121-8315

2720 Cool Lilac Avenue Henderson, NV 89052-3836

District 30 Michael Sprinkle (D) 775-742-5935 Mike.Sprinkle@asm.state.nv.us P.O. Box 51202 Sparks, NV 89435-1202

District 23 Melissa Woodbury (R) 702-596-9080 Melissa.Woodbury@asm.state.nv.us District 31 10000 W. Charleston, Suite 100 Jill Dickman (R): Majority Whip Las Vegas, NV 89135 North District 10 775-771-9579 District 24 District 17 Shelly Shelton (R) Jill.Dickman@asm.state.nv.us Amber Joiner (D) Tyrone Thompson (D) 702-343-4546 1344 Disc Drive, No. 201 775-338-6733 702-561-7976 Shelly.Shelton@asm.state.nv.us Sparks, NV 89436-0684 Tyrone.Thompson@asm.state.nv.us Amber.Joiner@asm.state.nv.us 845 S. Kenny Way P.O. Box 9810 117 Fox Crossing Avenue Las Vegas, NV 89107-4437 District 32 North Las Vegas, NV 89084-5207 Reno, NV 89507-0810 Ira Hansen (R) District 11 Majority Floor Leader District 25 District 18 Olivia Diaz (D) 775-221-2502 VACANT Richard Carrillo (D) 702-501-8994 Ira.Hansen@asm.state.nv.us 702-273-8786 Olivia.Diaz@asm.state.nv.us 68 Amigo Court District 26 Richard.Carrillo@asm.state.nv.us P.O. Box 365072 Sparks, NV 89441-6213 Randy Kirner (R) North Las Vegas, NV 89036-9072 4819 Diza Court 775-852-3857 Las Vegas, NV 89122-7574 District 33 Randy.Kirner@asm.state.nv.us District 12 John Ellison (R) 18124 Wedge Parkway, Suite 519 District 19 James Ohrenschall (R) Speaker Pro Tempore Reno, NV 89511-8134 Chris Edwards (R) 702-432-6999 775-738-6284 James.Ohrenschall@asm.state.nv.us 702-715-4308 John.Ellison@asm.state.nv.us District 27 Chris.Edwards@asm.state.nv.us P.O. Box 97741 P.O. Box 683 Teresa Benitez-Thompson (D) 6088 Riflecrest Avenue Las Vegas, NV 89193-7741 Elko, NV 89803-0683 775-247-7665 Las Vegas, NV 89156-4778 Teresa.BenitezThompson@asm. District 13 District 34 state.nv.us District 20 Paul Anderson (R) Victoria Seaman (R) P.O. Box 5730 Ellen Spiegel (D) 702-410-6645 Assistant Majority Whip Reno, NV 89513-5730 702-577-2167 Paul.Anderson@asm.state.nv.us 702-466-0407 10000 W. Charleston Blvd, Ste 100 Ellen.Spiegel@asm.state.nv.us Victoria.Seaman@asm.state.nv.us 2764 N. Green Valley Pkwy No. 327 District 28 Las Vegas, NV 89135-1006 8808 Rozetta Court Edgar Flores (D) Henderson, NV 89014-2120 Las Vegas, NV 89134-6179 702-308-0483 District 14 Edgar.Flores@asm.state.nv.us District 21 Maggie Carlton (D) District 35 P.O. Box 42302 Co-Assistant Minority Floor Leader Derek Armstrong (R) Brent Jones (R) Las Vegas, NV 89116-0302 702-769-2836 702-236-5401 702-521-0632 Derek.Armstrong@asm.state.nv.us Maggie.Carlton@asm.state.nv.us Brent.Jones@asm.state.nv.us 2675 Windmill Parkway, Apt. 2823 District 29 5540 East Cartwright Avenue 4497 Via Bianca Avenue Stephen Silberkraus (R) Henderson, NV 89074-1944 Las Vegas, NV 89110-3802 Las Vegas, NV 89141-4256 702-900-0998 Stephen.Silberkraus@asm.state. District 22 District 15 District 36 nv.us Lynn Stewart (R) Elliot T. Anderson (D) James Oscarson (R) P.O. Box 530364 702-614-0631 702-733-4073 775-513-7468 Henderson, NV 89053-0364 Lynn.Stewart@asm.state.nv.us Elliot.Anderson@asm.state.nv.us District 16 Heidi Swank (D) 702-371-6217 Heidi.Swank@asm.state.nv.us 546 Barbara Way Las Vegas, NV 89104-2858

James.Oscarson@asm.state.nv.us P.O. Box 1600 Pahrump, NV 89048-1600 District 37 Glenn Trowbridge (R) 702-363-2183 Glenn.Trowbridge@asm.state.nv.us 8912 Riviera Beach Drive Las Vegas, NV 89128-9998 District 38 Robin Titus (R) 775-465-2587 Robin.Titus@asm.state.nv.us P.O. Box 377 Wellington, NV 89444-0377 District 39 Jim Wheeler (R) 775-546-3471 Jim.Wheeler@asm.state.nv.us P.O. Box 2135 Minden, NV 89423-2135 District 40 Phillip Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Neal (R) 775-741-8309 PK.Oneill@asm.state.nv.us 1216 Sonoma St. Carson City, NV 89701-6175 District 41 Victoria Dooling (R) 702-808-2017 Vicki.Dooling@asm.state.nv.us 2505 Anthem Village Drive, Ste 492 Henderson, NV 89052-5505 District 42 Irene Bustamante (D) 702-542-3900 Irene.BustamanteAdams@asm. state.nv.us 3800 Reflection Way Las Vegas, NV 89147-4442

THE STADIUM SCAM

contact script

The following scripts are guidelines and should be adjusted according to your preferences. Explain your personal reasons for opposing public funding, but remember to keep all comments constructive and respectful.

letter template

call script

As I’m sure you are aware, Sheldon Adelson is worth nearly $30 billion, three times as much as the entire Nevada budget for fiscal year 2015. Mr. Adelson and his wife are proud philanthropists, claiming that “the bigger the basket we have to spread out to people that can’t help themselves, the better we feel.” Why, then, does Mr. Adelson want hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer dollars to go toward a football stadium over education or housing—two crises in Nevada? A stadium could be a great addition to Las Vegas, but not on the public dime.

Hello,

Nationwide, activists, economists and public policy experts across the political spectrum have denounced stadium subsidization. Study after study has shown that these publicly funded mega-projects yield poor returns on investment, placing economic risk on the middle and working classes. Since 1990, taxpayers have sunk approximately $30 billion into stadiums and arenas. Raiders owner Mark Davis is scoping out Las Vegas precisely because Oakland civic leaders have learned from such mistakes. Still paying off $100 million in debt from its current stadium, Oakland has no appetite for another wasteful round of subsidies. In post-recession Nevada, allocating hundreds of millions of public dollars for private stadium development would be a particularly egregious error.

IF YES: Great! I hope that you and your colleagues in the Senate can devise more productive ways to spend hundreds of millions of state dollars. Thank you for your time today.

As a constituent, I urge you to oppose public funding in any form for a stadium in Nevada. If we’re going to build something enjoyable for the public, let’s aim to make it actually benefit the public. Sincerely, XX

My name is XX and I am one of your constituents. I am calling today to strongly oppose public funding for a football stadium. Study after study has shown that publicly funded stadium projects yield poor returns on investment, placing economic risk on the middle and working classes. If Las Vegas builds a stadium, it should be privately financed. Can your constituents count on you to oppose wasteful taxpayer spending on this stadium?

IF MAYBE: Nevada’s educational system ranks last in the nation, and we face daunting challenges of homelessness and unemployment. When billionaires request hundreds of millions of dollars for development, that shouldn’t suddenly become our first priority. Can you commit to making billionaires pay for their own projects while focusing our legislature on issues like education, housing and jobs? IF YES: Great! I hope that you and your colleagues in the Senate can devise more productive ways to spend hundreds of millions of state dollars. Thank you for your time today. IF STILL MAYBE: I understand that you will have to take more time think about the issue. May I send you some links to nationwide research about stadium subsidization? IF NO: OK. Thank you for your time today. IF NO: That is disappointing to hear. Thank you for your time today, and I hope you will reconsider.

THE STADIUM SCAM

stickers

screenshot one or all of these stickers and post it online! or print them out and put them in a public place.

The man asking Nevada, home of the nation’s worst education system, to raise hundreds of millions of dollars for private property: “My wife and I are big on philanthropy, and the bigger the basket we have to spread out to people that can’t help themselves, the better we feel. It’s not as though I’m working just to increase my own basket of goodies.” #stadiumscam

Over the past three decades, a stadium-building boom has overtaken professional sports. Fueled by the promise of urban renewal, local and state governments have partnered with franchise owners to finance lavish facilities for the hometown teams. But the premise of rejuvenating cities through publicly funded private property is misleading and damaging. e-mail stadiumscam@gmail.com to get involved

e-mail stadiumscam@gmail.com to get involved

$30+bil

public funds spent on pro stadiums since 1990

food for almost 10

can also buy

#stadiumscam

million starving children

e-mail stadiumscam@gmail.com to get involved

Possible accompanying statuses:

#save

“The history of public-private sports stadium partnerships has become such a common scandal it plays tired in the headlines. Tales and broken promises of lusty economic boosts, job opportunities, and community redevelopment litter the national playing field. That side of the story, however, to date has received precious little analysis in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, which the Adelson family secretly purchased in December for $140 million.” http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/05/09/will-las-vegas-bet-on-a-1-4-billion-sports-stadium.html

from the stadium scam e-mail stadiumscam@gmail.com to get involved

Nevada ranks last in the nation for education, but multimillionaires and billionaires want to spend tax dollars on their private development project. http://www.rgj.com/story/sports/2016/06/03/week-1000-words-las-vegas-worst-idea-ever/85321280/ mac: shift-command-3 will let you screenshot a selected area pc: use the snipping tool