Because the Super Bowl will be back in Atlanta then, and the last time it was here, Ray Lewis murdered two guys. And if Ray Rice remains under the wing of big brother, then we may as well start a dead pool of all the people who will probably “mysteriously” die during that weekend.
Seriously though, I know there are a lot of people who are excited for this news; they are called NFL fanatics, and corporate stiffs. The NFL fanatics will be out of their minds with excitement at the biggest game of the year coming to their home, with aspirations of getting nosebleed tickets and all the potential for the scenes, celebrity and athlete sightings, and whatever else Atlanta plans on trotting out for the weeks leading up to, and ultimately the weekend of the big game.
The corporate stiffs are naturally over the moon with this development, because like most things involving the NFL, these rich people will inexplicably manage to get richer from this whole debacle, at the expense of the rest of the plebes that have the unfortunate misfortune of simply existing in their vicinity.
And then there are people like me, who not only couldn’t care less about the most overrated event in the world coming into my backyard, but is instead resentful about it, because I’m a grownup now, that pays taxes and has a general interest in things that might affect me, and I see through the bullshit and rhetoric spouted by sporting-related events and matters.
Like all the circle-jerking being done by the stiffs, celebrating their win in bringing the Super Bowl to Atlanta; sure, they spout all sorts of rhetoric about all the business and tourism dollars it’s going to bring to the city, but they don’t mention that the majority of it is going to private companies and individuals, yet the cost to make everything happen, is mostly going to come out of the pockets of taxpayers:
“Several members of Atlanta’s bid committee said they provided the NFL with a “fully funded” bid that estimates the local cost of hosting Super Bowl LIII at $46 million.
Of that total, according to the committee members, $20 million will come from donations that have been pledged by two dozen Atlanta businesses; $16 million from a portion of the Atlanta hotel-motel tax designated for major events; and $10 million from a sales-tax exemption on Super Bowl tickets passed by the Georgia Legislature this year.”
So let’s break this down a little bit:
- $20M from donations by two dozen Atlanta businesses
Two dozen businesses have donated a substantial amount, but in return will all be entitled to tickets, suites, amenities, advertising and partnerships that will all probably add up to well more than $20M of value. They might as well just called it the investments that they really are.
- $16M from a portion of the Atlanta lodging tax
If anyone has ever bothered to look at their $1,000+ Dragon*Con hotel statement before, might have noticed a noticeable portion of it going towards taxes. Encapsulated within said taxes is a special tax that goes towards, well, anything that requires funding, although I’m convinced it’s mostly primarily used to line bureaucratic pockets.
But it’s the Atlanta lodging tax, which exists to fund things, like all the fucking new sporting stadiums the city doesn’t need. It exists under the guise that assumes only tourists from outside of Georgia are the ones who stay at hotels and motels, and therefore “Georgians are not being targeted.” But tell that to the 60,000 people who attend Dragon*Cons, BCS bowl games, NASCAR races and other substantial events, which large chunks of attendees, are native Georgians.
Basically, every dollar spent on lodging in the State of Georgia, a percentage of it is going towards a tax, that is spent on “important” things, such as sporting events or stadiums. Not hurting the taxpayers, right??
- $10 million from a sales-tax exemption on Super Bowl tickets passed by the Georgia Legislature this year
This, is probably the most ludicrous one of them all, though. Sure, at first blush, it sounds great “No sales tax on Super Bowl tickets!” But then, it’s going to turn out that nosebleed seats are still going to be $200 instead of $216.
“Removing the sales tax on tickets would be a “loss” of $10-12 million, but according to (Dan) Corso (Executive director of Atlanta sports council), the state could gain $400 million.”
What is not being said is that when tax breaks are relieved from one location, somewhere else is going to feel the repercussions of it. When I worked for the State, all the tax breaks that Georgia was giving to filmmakers and movie production studios to come film here saved them millions of dollars, but State employees didn’t get raises, much less cost-of-living and/or inflation wage increases for 17 years.
Removing sales taxes from Super Bowl tickets means somewhere else, is going to feel the brunt of tax dollars not being made. It sure won’t be sports stadiums, but maybe education, conservation, or the department of transportation; y’know, all those schlub organizations that couldn’t possibly use some funding.
Sure, the NFL “loses” $10-12 million on a finite number of tickets that will sell out in seconds, whether or not they had sales tax, and undoubtedly, the Super Bowl will bring a massive amount of money circulating into the City of Atlanta during Super Bowl week and weekend. Quite possibly close to the $400 million mark that they’re guess-timating. But who’s going to get that money?
Theoretically, the NFL will probably take $200 million of that in spite of basically having contributed $0 into the bringing of the Super Bowl to Atlanta. Investors, will probably get paid back to something absurd like $5 for every dollar they “donated” to the Super Bowl. And then, maybe like $25 million will go towards the myriad of food, lodging, transportation and variety of businesses that will flourish from the influx of people visiting for the big game.
You know who won’t get anything back from this mythical $400 million return on the Super Bowl? The taxpayers.
Man, aren’t we glad the Super Bowl is coming to town now? To congest our roads, clog our favorite restaurants, crowd the tourist sights, and to stab people. All for a whole bunch of money that the people spending it to bring this shitshow, won’t see a nickel back of?
As I always disclaim, I write shit like this not because I don’t like football; quite the contrary. The sport is great, it’s the business of it however, that I find deplorable. Additionally, I have little desire to go to gigantically massive events in the first place, and find things like football games better enjoyed in the comfort of friends, on couches, eating food of our collective choice, and watching them on meticulously produced live feeds. Not crammed shoulder-to-shoulder with a bunch of strangers and potential WOO GUYs, while having my vision obstructed by fat fucks and/or being 200 yards away from the action.
You know what, at second thought, maybe it’s not a bad idea for the Ravens to get good, and make it to the Super Bowl. Maybe Ray Lewis and Ray Rice will stab some of the billionaire assholes, bureaucrats and politicians who allow stupid shit like this to even happen.
