Field of Schemes
@fieldofschemes.bsky.social
Sports stadium and arena news by Neil deMause (@neildemause.bsky.social), co-author of the book Field of Schemes.
Should L.A. try to extricate itself from hosting the 2028 Summer Olympics amid concerns about cost overruns? You can get a pretty good sense of my report's findings from its title, "Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don't," but if you want more, read on.
Friday roundup: Friends don’t let friends host the Olympics, and other cautionary tales
Last week I teased a big project of mine that would drop this week, and it went live yesterday morning: a 57-page report, commissioned by Los Angeles economic justice advocacy group Strategic Action f...
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February 6, 2026 at 4:07 PM
Should L.A. try to extricate itself from hosting the 2028 Summer Olympics amid concerns about cost overruns? You can get a pretty good sense of my report's findings from its title, "Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don't," but if you want more, read on.
With Commissioner Ken Hagan declaring a Rays stadium "does not happen without the CIT," the first battle will be over whether it's okay for a county without a ton of tax revenue to scrounge up $1.15B by first raiding the infrastructure and schools budget.
Hillsborough County considers raiding infrastructure fund to give $1.15B to Rays
With the Hillsborough County Commission set to meet to discuss plans for a new Tampa Bay Rays stadium yesterday, on Tuesday Rob Manfred showed up in Tampa to meet with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and ge...
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February 5, 2026 at 2:53 PM
With Commissioner Ken Hagan declaring a Rays stadium "does not happen without the CIT," the first battle will be over whether it's okay for a county without a ton of tax revenue to scrounge up $1.15B by first raiding the infrastructure and schools budget.
"I feel this is not a public hearing, this is a presentation of what has already been decided," said one Olathe resident. This proved to be foreshadowing, as the city council listened for two hours, then approved Chiefs tax subsidies in a unanimous vote.
Olathe council unanimously approves Chiefs subsidy after just two hours of discussion; Wyandotte County to follow tomorrow
Both Wyandotte County, where a new Kansas City Chiefs stadium would be built under a proposal by the state of Kansas, and the city of Olathe, where a Chiefs training facility would go, held hearings y...
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February 4, 2026 at 1:09 PM
"I feel this is not a public hearing, this is a presentation of what has already been decided," said one Olathe resident. This proved to be foreshadowing, as the city council listened for two hours, then approved Chiefs tax subsidies in a unanimous vote.
You can hear my WMNF appearance re the Rays stadium deal here, click on 2/3/26 show: www.wmnf.org/events/makin...
February 3, 2026 at 10:23 PM
You can hear my WMNF appearance re the Rays stadium deal here, click on 2/3/26 show: www.wmnf.org/events/makin...
FYI I'll be on WMNF radio at 10 am ET to talk about the latest Rays development — tune in online here: www.wmnf.org
The $2.25B in taxpayer subsidies Zalupski is requesting would be by far the biggest public spend ever on an MLB stadium. The TB Times instead went with the glass-half-full headline "Rays tell Hillsborough they’ll cover at least 50% of Tampa stadium cost."
Rays owner now demanding $2.25B in public stadium spending, land, and tax breaks
We finally have a price tag on how much Tampa Bay Rays owner Patrick Zalupski wants in spending by Hillsborough County to help build a $2.3 billion stadium in Tampa: A notice for the meeting says the ...
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February 3, 2026 at 1:34 PM
FYI I'll be on WMNF radio at 10 am ET to talk about the latest Rays development — tune in online here: www.wmnf.org
The $2.25B in taxpayer subsidies Zalupski is requesting would be by far the biggest public spend ever on an MLB stadium. The TB Times instead went with the glass-half-full headline "Rays tell Hillsborough they’ll cover at least 50% of Tampa stadium cost."
Rays owner now demanding $2.25B in public stadium spending, land, and tax breaks
We finally have a price tag on how much Tampa Bay Rays owner Patrick Zalupski wants in spending by Hillsborough County to help build a $2.3 billion stadium in Tampa: A notice for the meeting says the ...
www.fieldofschemes.com
February 3, 2026 at 12:23 PM
The $2.25B in taxpayer subsidies Zalupski is requesting would be by far the biggest public spend ever on an MLB stadium. The TB Times instead went with the glass-half-full headline "Rays tell Hillsborough they’ll cover at least 50% of Tampa stadium cost."
Along with KS and Clay County, Royals owner John Sherman can "explore" stadium options in Greensboro or Central Park or Antarctica, but those places aren't offering him money either. Give Sherman the 2026 Nobel Prize for Chutzpah, nobody's topping this.
Royals owner threatens to move team to counties that no longer want him
What's a sports team owner to do when his bidding war is running out of bidders? If you're Kansas City Royals owner John Sherman, you just keep on pretending you have bidders anyway. Reports KMBC-TV: ...
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February 2, 2026 at 8:14 PM
Along with KS and Clay County, Royals owner John Sherman can "explore" stadium options in Greensboro or Central Park or Antarctica, but those places aren't offering him money either. Give Sherman the 2026 Nobel Prize for Chutzpah, nobody's topping this.
Olathe would give up all sales, hotel, and property tax revenues within a Chiefs tax district for 30 years. Unless the city council says tomorrow, "We get all the hassle of hosting a Chiefs practice field but the Chiefs keep all the tax money? No thanks."
Chiefs practice field in Olathe would break new ground in siphoning off city tax money
Two local Kansas governments will be holding public hearings tomorrow on possible subsidies for a new Kansas City Chiefs stadium to defray the state's possibly insurmountable costs. Wyandotte County h...
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February 2, 2026 at 4:22 PM
Olathe would give up all sales, hotel, and property tax revenues within a Chiefs tax district for 30 years. Unless the city council says tomorrow, "We get all the hassle of hosting a Chiefs practice field but the Chiefs keep all the tax money? No thanks."
Wyandotte County needs to decide whether to put city and county sales taxes into a Chiefs stadium, while legislators from both parties criticize the deal as "tax giveaways for billionaires." There's a ways to go before Clark Hunt can cash his $4B check.
Friday roundup: Chiefs stadium deal still not finalized, Royals even less so
Pressed for time here on a bunch of projects (I'll be able to reveal more about one next Thursday or Friday), so let's take a brief spin through the rest of this week's news: Wyandotte County will hol...
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January 30, 2026 at 3:59 PM
Wyandotte County needs to decide whether to put city and county sales taxes into a Chiefs stadium, while legislators from both parties criticize the deal as "tax giveaways for billionaires." There's a ways to go before Clark Hunt can cash his $4B check.
A non-offer like this bill could be better for Bears exes than a real offer, because this way they can use it as leverage to demand as much as they want rather than Illinois elected officials being able to go, "Okay, what Indiana offered you, plus $1."
Indiana senates passes bill to create stadium authority for Bears, still mum on how much or what tax money to provide
The Indiana senate yesterday overwhelmingly passed its bill to create a sports authority for a potential Chicago Bears stadium, and let's see how the local news media handled it: WNDU-TV: "Indiana Sen...
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January 29, 2026 at 5:42 PM
A non-offer like this bill could be better for Bears exes than a real offer, because this way they can use it as leverage to demand as much as they want rather than Illinois elected officials being able to go, "Okay, what Indiana offered you, plus $1."
The Rays owners are considering seeking a bunch of stadium tax subsidies, plus use of $250m-$1.7B in state land, plus an estimated $839 million in property tax breaks. Total public price tag: Who the hell knows, but "wayyyy over $1B" seems a fair bet.
Rays stadium cost set at $2.3B, public share still TBD
The proposed Tampa Bay Rays stadium at Hillsborough College's Dale Mabry Campus in Tampa may not have a design or a funding plan, but it does now have a price tag: $2.3 billion, according to Tampa Spo...
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January 28, 2026 at 3:28 PM
The Rays owners are considering seeking a bunch of stadium tax subsidies, plus use of $250m-$1.7B in state land, plus an estimated $839 million in property tax breaks. Total public price tag: Who the hell knows, but "wayyyy over $1B" seems a fair bet.
Public ballots have a way lower winning percentage than do legislative votes — and given how things went last time John Sherman tried to get state tax money, who gets to decide on any Royals subsidies is likely to be a big deal in any KC stadium talks.
Missouri state rep claims KC mayor attempting $500m end run around voters on Royals stadium
Amid increasing talk that Missouri officials are readying a stadium offer to Kansas City Royals owner John Sherman despite all the other bidders having dropped out, state representative Mike Jones dro...
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January 27, 2026 at 3:09 PM
Public ballots have a way lower winning percentage than do legislative votes — and given how things went last time John Sherman tried to get state tax money, who gets to decide on any Royals subsidies is likely to be a big deal in any KC stadium talks.
Hosting major events is held out as a carrot for public stadium funding, and even if that's overblown — how many World Cups can one stadium host in its lifetime? — any benefits deflate fast if your prize event becomes an international embarrassment.
Could FIFA really move the 2026 World Cup out of the U.S.?
Ever since the Donald Trump administration started ordering immigration officers to abduct people who don't look like Donald Trump and the Supreme Court said "cool, cool," questions have been raised a...
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January 27, 2026 at 11:56 AM
Hosting major events is held out as a carrot for public stadium funding, and even if that's overblown — how many World Cups can one stadium host in its lifetime? — any benefits deflate fast if your prize event becomes an international embarrassment.
Reposted by Field of Schemes
Reposted by Field of Schemes
The Lightning's $250m in renovations will cost taxpayers $41.7m per year of lease extension, one of the priciest in sports history. If team owner Jeffrey Vinik wins state sales tax money as well for a no-year extension, that'll be a per-year cost of $∞.
Friday roundup: Lightning win $250m in tax money for 6-year lease extension, Missouri holds secret talks on Royals stadium
We have a bunch of new followers here thanks largely to all the tumult over the Kansas City Chiefs stadium deal, so it's worth another mention that Field of Schemes continues to exist after almost 28 ...
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January 23, 2026 at 12:43 PM
The Lightning's $250m in renovations will cost taxpayers $41.7m per year of lease extension, one of the priciest in sports history. If team owner Jeffrey Vinik wins state sales tax money as well for a no-year extension, that'll be a per-year cost of $∞.
When a state rep asked if KS will lose money as inflation cuts into the value of remaining taxes, a Chiefs lawyer replied: "This is really about growing the pie for our state, not just arguing over the current pie" — that's not how inflation works, or pie!
Chiefs lawyer says spending $4B in tax money on stadium will cost nothing, because pie
The commerce committees of the Kansas state house and senate spent an hour yesterday investigating the "real facts" of the Kansas City Chiefs stadium deal, as House commerce chair Sean Tarwater put it...
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January 22, 2026 at 5:34 PM
When a state rep asked if KS will lose money as inflation cuts into the value of remaining taxes, a Chiefs lawyer replied: "This is really about growing the pie for our state, not just arguing over the current pie" — that's not how inflation works, or pie!
Even if Ken Hagan truly believes that Rays owner Patrick Zalupski might move the team to Orlando, you don't say that out loud! Not when you're about to negotiate unspecified "incentives" for a new Rays stadium, on top of $1B or more in land and tax breaks.
Rays don’t have to threaten Orlando move to get billions from Tampa, because county official is doing it for them
If there's one basic principle in negotiations of any kind, it's to hold your cards tight and not give your opponent any unnecessary leverage. Even if you want to ultimately agree to a deal, to get th...
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January 22, 2026 at 1:37 PM
Even if Ken Hagan truly believes that Rays owner Patrick Zalupski might move the team to Orlando, you don't say that out loud! Not when you're about to negotiate unspecified "incentives" for a new Rays stadium, on top of $1B or more in land and tax breaks.
The state-owned Hillsborough College site is exempt from property taxes, plus the Rays will seek state/local "incentives." Lease terms TBD, but over a 99-year lease, discounted rent could add up to a lot, as it did for the DC's $6.6B Commanders subsidy.
Rays owners probably demanding another $1b stadium subsidy in Tampa, counting free land and tax breaks
The Tampa Bay Rays' proposed memorandum of understanding with Hillsborough College on a site for a new stadium is out, and the initial news coverage of same tells us next to nothing we want to know ab...
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January 21, 2026 at 12:30 PM
The state-owned Hillsborough College site is exempt from property taxes, plus the Rays will seek state/local "incentives." Lease terms TBD, but over a 99-year lease, discounted rent could add up to a lot, as it did for the DC's $6.6B Commanders subsidy.
"Will the Chiefs stadium pay for itself?" conflates two questions: Will the tax money Kansas sets aside be enough to pay off bonds? and Can the state pay for this without costing Kansas taxpayers money? The answers appear to be "sure, maybe" and "LOL no."
The two very different ways the Chiefs stadium public funding plan can fail
The Kansas City Star ran an informative article on Sunday on questions still outstanding about the plan to give Kansas City Chiefs owner Clark Hunt $2.8 billion in Kansas state tax money to build a ne...
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January 20, 2026 at 12:43 PM
"Will the Chiefs stadium pay for itself?" conflates two questions: Will the tax money Kansas sets aside be enough to pay off bonds? and Can the state pay for this without costing Kansas taxpayers money? The answers appear to be "sure, maybe" and "LOL no."
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How is getting hundreds of millions in "tax certainty and infrastructure" "one-sided in favor of the government." Why do I keep seeing this Marc Ganis guy quoted in Bears stadium news stories? If he's not working for the team, he might as well be.
January 17, 2026 at 2:11 PM
How is getting hundreds of millions in "tax certainty and infrastructure" "one-sided in favor of the government." Why do I keep seeing this Marc Ganis guy quoted in Bears stadium news stories? If he's not working for the team, he might as well be.
Rays owner/Ron DeSantis pal Patrick Zalupski is reportedly set to buy the state-owned Hillsborough College’s Dale Mabry Campus in Tampa for the site of a new stadium development. Where the college would move and where the money would come from: TBD.
Friday roundup: Rays target stadium site, Bears seek Indiana stadium authority, Chiefs pursue local tax money
Sorry for the late post today — I think all the images of people getting shot in the face and pulled screaming from their cars are starting to interfere with my sleep schedule. No matter what else is ...
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January 16, 2026 at 6:26 PM
Rays owner/Ron DeSantis pal Patrick Zalupski is reportedly set to buy the state-owned Hillsborough College’s Dale Mabry Campus in Tampa for the site of a new stadium development. Where the college would move and where the money would come from: TBD.
Subsidy bill sponsor Eliana Pintor Marin said if the Devils "were to pack up and leave," the detriment to Newark "would be substantial." That's debatable, but also Josh Harris hadn't threatened to move the Devils and has a lease in Newark through 2038, so.
New Jersey legislature okays $300m Devils tax break just one week after it was introduced
Well, that didn't take long: Just one week after it was first revealed that the state of New Jersey was considering giving Devils owner Josh Harris $300 million in new tax breaks to pay for arena upgr...
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January 16, 2026 at 12:57 AM
Subsidy bill sponsor Eliana Pintor Marin said if the Devils "were to pack up and leave," the detriment to Newark "would be substantial." That's debatable, but also Josh Harris hadn't threatened to move the Devils and has a lease in Newark through 2038, so.
58% of Illinois voters think it's important for the Bears to stay in Illinois, but also 58% oppose using public funding to get them to stay. Would they count $1B in tax breaks and infrastructure spending as "public funding"?
Illinois speaker who called $1B+ Bears subsidies “insensitive” now says they’d be okay, maybe
Illinois state officials are continuing to walk back their rhetoric against state funding for a Chicago Bears stadium, at least when it comes to infrastructure. Following Gov. JB Pritzker's statement ...
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January 15, 2026 at 5:57 PM
58% of Illinois voters think it's important for the Bears to stay in Illinois, but also 58% oppose using public funding to get them to stay. Would they count $1B in tax breaks and infrastructure spending as "public funding"?
Politicians continue to divide public spending on private sports venues into one bucket marked "real tax dollars" and one "not really tax dollars because reasons" — leading to record-breaking stadium subsidies being justified as costing taxpayers nothing.
Hidden subsidies cost taxpayers billions of dollars a year, yet elected officials keep pretending they’re not real money
University of Colorado Denver sports economist Geoffrey Propheter, who readers here should be very familiar with as it seems like I cite him every day or so, has an essay up today at The Conversation ...
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January 14, 2026 at 4:48 PM
Politicians continue to divide public spending on private sports venues into one bucket marked "real tax dollars" and one "not really tax dollars because reasons" — leading to record-breaking stadium subsidies being justified as costing taxpayers nothing.