Another attempt to keep the Sun here.

[Dugway]

I am not a resident of CT, don’t own any property there, don’t pay any taxes there in CT at all. I really have no dog in the fight.

With that being said, 1) it is not uncommon for public funds to be involved in the construction of sporting venues. Often times it is a concoction of private money and public, and the public money can be a combination of State and local. 2) It may not be the only occurrence, but it would be uncommon to have public money invested in the actual sporting team. I believe the Green Bay Packers are owned by the local municipal government, and they have done very well with that. Of course that is the NFL which is on the opposite side of the profitability spectrum than that of the WNBA.

In modern America, we tend to think that the government has an unlimited checkbook, but the reality is that it’s your money. How do you folks that live in CT feel about your current State and Local government. Do you feel that you are under taxed for the services that you receive. Or, do you feel that your taxes are excessive now and not well spent?

I don’t have a dog in your fight as noted. I can tell you however that I am not a fan of any of my tax dollars being spent on the construction of the new stadium for the Las Vegas Raiders, nor the new stadium for the Las Vegas A’s. Part of that is that I live 450 miles away. It’s an equivalent distance as from Storrs to Richmond,VA. I just don’t seem to be getting great bang for my buck with having those two professional sports teams home facilities packaged into my payroll. JMHO.

 

[reelfan]

Threatening to sue the WNBA to keep the Sun in CT is an act of sheer desperation.

 

[cullaville]

The state shouldn’t invest in a private business? But it’s ok for the federal government?

And the destination was pegged as Houston, not Boston.

 

[cullaville]

My point was about the State of CT investment but no the Federal Government should not be investing in private enterprises

 

[CL82]

We can argue around and around on this but one thing stands true - unlike many other universities UConn is not carrying hundreds of millions of dollars in facilities debt and I'm glad we're not in their camp...

Here's an AI Overview:
Universities with significant athletic stadium debts as of early 2025 include Illinois ($312.5 million), Ohio State ($286.7 million), Michigan ($252.8 million), Penn State ($246.9 million), Washington ($244.4 million), and Iowa ($227.8 million). Other institutions like UCLA ($102.8 million) and Cal (around $445 million) also have substantial debts, with Cal's having payments extending to 2112. Many other schools face substantial debt, but these are among the highest reported.

Lol, so you're saying that Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State are all in worse financial circumstances than we are? That list effectively proves the point that caring debt in and of itself isn't an evil in end of itself.

If you want to have some fun, go and look at the athletic department franchises values that was posted in a different thread. Look at those schools position versus our schools position.

You're welcome.

 

[CTFAN4LIFE]

My point was about the State of CT investment but no the Federal Government should not be investing in private enterprises

It already does via loans, venture capital, incentives, bailouts, etc. They don't take ownership stakes but there is federal investment.

 

[CL82]

My point was about the State of CT investment but no the Federal Government should not be investing in private enterprises

Like pretty much all answers, you have to qualify that with a big "depends." I would suggest that there are times where it makes sense and is in the country's best interest. The problem is that "investing" the due diligence consists of how much cash you can load into a dump truck and dump on the institution. Like you, I have a very healthy skepticism about it because politicians think like politicians and not businessmen. Dumping wheelbarrels full of cash on companies because it makes a political statement is inevitably a bad decision.

That said I feel like we're getting into political drift so let's end it here.

 

[CL82]

Threatening to sue the WNBA to keep the Sun in CT is an act of sheer desperation.

But right out of Blumenthol's playbook apparently...

 

[CTFAN4LIFE]

Lol, so you're saying that Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State are all in worse financial circumstances than we are? That list effectively proves the point that caring debt in and of itself isn't an evil in end of itself.

If you want to have some fun, go and look at the athletic department franchises values that was posted in a different thread. Look at those schools position versus our schools position.

You're welcome.

I'm not saying Ohio State, Michigan, PSU are in a worse situation, you did... most of the top 20 revenue generating AD's also carry debt and many run in the red operating-wise. Just because you have high end revenue it doesn't mean you make a profit. It also doesn't mean you aren't concerned about revenue/expenses/bottom line. Heck, just today the Ohio State President is talking about the Big10 one day having an unequal revenue distribution model like the ACC. I'd say every D1 school is concerned with every aspect of their budgets; especially now with athlete revenue share, NIL, reduced academic research grants, etc.

 

[Monte]

WHY?? The TV channel that televises most of the Sun's game is in BOSTON!

Why don't all the concerned people who are working so hard to keep the Sun in Connecticut. speak to some CT channels?

 

[Ha Who]

WHY?? The TV channel that televises most of the Sun's game is in BOSTON!

Why don't all the concerned people who are working so hard to keep the Sun in Connecticut. speak to some CT channels?

NESN covers yard goats games when the Red Sox are not playing. Maybe we should move them Boston University’s baseball stadium. Our beloved team used to be on SNY all the time. Maybe they should be moved to New York

 

[Bald Husky]

WHY?? The TV channel that televises most of the Sun's game is in BOSTON!

WHY?? The TV channel that televises most of the Sun's game is in BOSTON!

Why don't all the concerned people who are working so hard to keep the Sun in Connecticut. speak to some CT channels?

Why not call up CPTV?