Warning to City Hall: CITIZEN ANGER IS BREWING

Indy's taxpayers are angry again.

Today's editorial in The Indy "afraid-to-step-on-toes" Star timidly suggests that it is time for the Colts and Pacers to pay for stadium overruns. A quick glace at all but one of the comments left, indicate that there is a citizen taxpayer revolt coming that will make the 2007 property tax protests look like a child's tea party.

The saddest part is that Mayor Ballard, who promised to always stand by the taxpayer, has abandoned us for his new elite friends. Even the most steadfast of his supporters, like myself, are feeling betrayed. It's mostly sad for the Mayor because he will not have a soul behind him when his elite new friends back stab him.

A SAMPLING OF BREWING CITIZEN OUTRAGE:

"The Hulman family has put Indianapolis in the national spotlight for FREE. The Hulman family also brings in more to the economy than the Pacers and Colts combined. Not to mention all the other benefits that come from racing. The many racing teams and businesses that live and spend money in Indiana. The Hulman family brings 3 Superbowls to the city every year."

"A 1% professional sports gross income surcharge upon the gross income of professional sports teams, and a 1% professional sport player surcharge upon their income earned within the stadiums."

"$720 million for a new Colts stadium? $15 million year for the Pacers to operate their new complex? $0 a year to tell the Pacers and Colts to hit the road. Priceless!!!!"

"We all know that Wall Streets profits were an illision. Its now time Professional Sports discovers its business model of having taxpayers subsidize $100 million dollar player contracts and getting free rent on billion dollar stadiums is not a sustainable business model."

"The state didn't make the building 2 1/2 times the size of the dome the CIB and the Colts did!"

"This scandal has been building and building (or taxing and building) since Hudnut. Now, with outstanding bond obligations (including debt service) on at least four sports venues (Market Square, RCA Dome, Lucas and Conseco--only two of which still exist) being compounded by undisclosed understating of operational costs, the true story is finally getting aired.
How about some accountability from the former mayors, Governors and elected officials who cooked this crack-coccaine scheme to further enrich themselves and their rich friends? Hudnut and Goldsmith are long gone, pursuing their careers as lobbyists, million dollar a year law partners, and visiting professors. Peterson is lunching with the developers that he helped become millionaires. Who is left to pay for their greed and duplicity?"

Irsay won't take it because he know, along w/ all the other "brilliant" business and government leaders that made the deal, that it would still lose him money.

"The 50 million the Colts gave was from the city for breaking the old lease to give them new dig's! It is also interesting that the Pacers lose a million and the discussion is about 15 million.....what about all the other valuble buisnesses out there losing money....guess they have no "public value" "

"The stadiums are just a big playground for law firms, lobbyists, legislators, and their personal friends. Power never condedes anything without a demand (from Frederick Douglass).
The demand is NO TAXES, OR RIOTS IN THE STREETS."

"The Indianapolis corporate base is way to smail(and shrinking) to support these professional teams, either they support themselves like a real business or they can go. We can't afford corporate welfare, we've got to pay for this prokulus bill now, we're all screwed, including the professionsl teams in htis city."

"Bottom line is that Indianaplolis cannot afford its professional sports teams. The city should be required to do the same thing that its citizens must do when they find themselves in the same situation - cut back. Either the Colts and Pacers pay their way or they hit the road, like there is any place that would take them. Instead of bending over, the City should play hardball with the ultra-rich guys. The rich guys can afford it."

"Given the role of business in lobbying asa garantee of "free speech" and their influence in our politics-example banks getting $350 billion" with no accountability-we are a commercial republic-what's good for business must be good for the citizens-right?"

"Charge the Pacers and Colts more instead, and let them raise ticket prices."

"Put the load where it needs to be. add the colts players to the list with irsay, let them share the wealth too. the only thing better would be to pay for the construction costs now & do what ever they want at the stadium."

"Tickets were $5 huh, the pacers finally figured out that their thugs are worth $5 a game. i would not pay that. i am so glad i don't live in indianapolis & have to pay taxes every time i get a burger to support a team that tries so hard to self destruct. i don't want any of my tax dollars going to the colts either. pro sports are totally out of control, no person is worth millions a year to play a game. our schools are putting to much in sports & not enough in the 3 r's. sports are all out of control, it's all about dollars not the sport. i don't know how the colts got their new home financed, but I would bet Mitch Daniels & tax payer money comes in to play somewhere. if these welfare sports(sports that need tax payer money to survive) can't make it on their own, dump them!"

"I say let the Pacers leave if they demand a contract change. Conseco is used a lot without them anyway. Just schedule a few more high school and college bball tournaments, concerts, etc. High school teams would draw almost as many fans as them anyway."

"If Irsay won't re-negotiate with the city, the city shouldn't renegotiate with the Pacers! Colts are doing awesome yet the city can't afford to run their facility? Great job by Peterson and others of setting up an awful contract. A ticket tax would be feasible on Colts tickets. But the Pacers fans wouldn't pay any extra. Pacers can only give away tickets at this point. Pacers have a chance to make some improvement with Granger and Dunleavy a solid core. But I don't think they're going to start selling out games unless they draft or sign a marquee player. Instead of charging ticket holders a tax, Irsay nees to start paying the city rent for the stadium and for maintenance costs. "

"The Pacers are doing poorly because of decisions made by people the Simons hired. This is not "our" problem. If ordinary citizens can't renegotiate their loans after they've made bad decisions, then billionaires shouldn't be allowed to renegotiate their contracts either. Don't bet on this happening though. I'm sure there already are high level negotiations taken place in violation of open meetings laws to stick it to the taxpayers. It would be nice to have a democracy and not a plutocracy."

"Let me repeat once again, NO NEW TAXES PERIOD! Let the people that use the stadium pay for it. I don't use any of those facilities, but I pay for that sorry a** staudium everytime I got out to eat which isn't that often now! But NO MORE."

"Let the Pacers and Colts leave town. We can use the empty space in LOCO Stadium to house the National UFO Museum. A UFO Museum will make us World Class."

"Let's close Conseco for now and let's have the Pacers play in the Wigwam in Anderson. Anderson needs to close it. The Pacers could play at the Wigwam and when they earn it, they can move to the Colliseum and when they can draw a crowd on a regular basis, they can have Conseco back. We are all out here getting nickle and dimed to death by our taxes while half of us are taking a pay cut or losing our jobs. We can't afford to go see these teams because we have to pay our taxes and eat. Give the regular guy a break here. Wait, us regular people can't afford to go to the games anyway."

"alk about chickens coming home to roost... Bart Peterson, with the blessing of the Star gave Jim Irsay everything he asked for in his contract. He did so while constantly repeating the benefits of having an NFL team in the city. He said they'd bring in millions of tax dollars and the that the city would revitalize. That must be why Forbes listed Indianapolis as tying with Jacksonville, Florida for the ninth emptiest city in the nation. The Colts have what they want and anyone who thinks that they might give any of it back is kidding themselves. Like Irsay says, "A deal's a deal." He has the city over a legal barrel and he knows it. He will continue to bleed the city until the CIB cannot afford to pay the stadium employees. At that point, I'd look for the Mayflower trucks to start circling the Colts complex. Then we'll be stuck with a huge white elephant and further in debt. Pacers take note. The taxpayer well has run dry."

"I love my pro teams, but come on....you all throw money around like it is tissue and want us to make up your losses? NO! The Pacers put an inferior product on the floor and now the are reaping what they sowed. Sorry guys, gonna have to cut the bugdet like the rest of us. None of those players deserved any bonuses and now you want Joe Citizen to help cover it...what it wrong with America today?"

"Does everybody realize you pay for the Pacers in YOUR cable TV bill?V In the Fall of 1996 the City-County Council increased the cable TV franchise fee from 3% to 5%, with the provision that the first 50 cents of each subscriber's bill would go to the Pacers (via the CIB). How much do we pay now?"

"More people making too much money wanting a bailout from the working poor."

"this is such a mess"

"Maybe they could cut a bit from the LOS budget by getting rid of the people standing at every aisle checking your ticket the entire game, every time you go to the can or get a hot dog. Trust me, I would NEVER try to sneak into my craptastic seats in the corner of the upper deck... which by the way are the same price as row one on the 50 upper deck... but I digress..."

"Free advertising! What about the quality of life. While Millionaires {athletes and owners rake in huge sums of money the avaerage citizen struggles to make ends meet!)Our streets and sidewalks are crumbling and your worried about adverstising. Wat to go Star you should have been out in front of this story when the$ 123 or what ever the huge sum of money paid by Lucas for naming rights went to the COLTS! You thunk? What about our news stations everybody is to busy drinking the same Kool-Aid."

"Given the actions of the Pacers players the last couple of seasons I think we should sue the organization for damaging the reputation of the city. It SHOULD go both ways."

"Nice try. I assure you that these people didn't become wealthy by giving money away. Not that they shouldn't. But they won't."