Sports

Government-Funded Bowl Needs More Tax Money

YOUR MONEY AT “WORK” By FITSNEWS || The so-called “Medal of Honor Bowl” – a college football All-Star game scheduled to be played at The Citadel’s Johnson-Hagood Stadium on January 15, 2015 – has already deprived South Carolina taxpayers of more than $160,000. Now the organizers of the game – which…

YOUR MONEY AT “WORK”

By FITSNEWS || The so-called “Medal of Honor Bowl” – a college football All-Star game scheduled to be played at The Citadel’s Johnson-Hagood Stadium on January 15, 2015 – has already deprived South Carolina taxpayers of more than $160,000.

Now the organizers of the game – which is not sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) – want Charleston County to cough up another $25,000 in public money.

Ridiculous …

The bowl game’s latest request for tax money comes as its leaders have declined to release a list of participating athletes.  Meanwhile NBCSN has declined to pick up the costs associated with televising the game – insisting bowl sponsors help shoulder the burden by selling advertisements.

Clearly that effort has met with dubious success if they are coming back to the taxpayers with their hats in hand.

Only 5,135 people attended the first “Medal of Honor” game – which was not televised.

“It was a joke,” a source familiar with the inaugural game told FITS. “They couldn’t even half-way fill a 20,000-seat stadium.”

That’s not surprising considering only three participants from the game were selected in the 2014 NFL draft.

“Here’s a question: If this event has such a huge positive economic impact, why don’t the folks who benefit from it economically foot the bill?” one critic of the game told FITS. “Last year, the poorly attended event ‘broke even,’ but had to depend on a government subsidy for that to happen. And now the organizers want more money.”

Whatever the appeal of a game like this, taxpayers – state or local – have no business subsidizing it.  Like any private sector endeavor, if the event’s organizers believe they can turn a profit off of the game – it is up to them to raise the necessary capital from private sector investors.

UPDATE: Request denied.

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16 comments

euwe max December 9, 2014 at 10:28 am

If this event has such a huge positive economic impact, why don’t the folks who benefit from it economically foot the bill?
———–
You make it sound like the rich, the ultra rich and the mega corporations should have to give up their windfall profits to pay for the wars they sponsored.

Where’s your libertarian “make the poor pay for it?”

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I Laugh At The Chumps December 9, 2014 at 10:34 am

Listen douche bag…. its obvious you are PRO GOVERNMENT all the way. The people do NOT want to pay for shit like this, ok????? Now go fuck yourself and find another website to stalk. Will, as always, is spot on. And YOU can’t stand that.

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Smirks December 9, 2014 at 10:43 am

On the contrary, Charleston County pays for shit like this all the damn time, and their residents have yet to rise up against it, so technically…

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Buz Martin December 9, 2014 at 11:15 am

Oh, they’re not “the people” though. “The people” are only the ones who complain about gubmint. Get with the program.

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euwe max December 9, 2014 at 10:51 am

Nope!

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Buz Martin December 9, 2014 at 11:14 am

/// Will, as always, is spot on. ///

And I get accused of kissing his ass! Hah! You’re blowing him and kissing his ass at the same time. You got mad skills!

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jimlewisowb December 9, 2014 at 10:55 am

Why not get the Maggots at CSOL to play the Cockroaches of the General Assembly

That should pull in thousands to the stadium

If the Maggots outscore the Cockroaches, CSOL will be taken over by the State/CoC, all students will receive free tuition and upon graduation all students will be awarded a lifetime position in State Government

Just to add a little insurance for the “win” by the Maggots, Glennie McConnell will be pressed into service as Quarterback for the Cockroaches with Hilda CornCobb centering the ball

Of course there will be a lot of fumbling by Glennie since he will constantly lose his concentration every time he slaps his hands up under CornCobb’s cooter to receive the ball

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Manray December 9, 2014 at 11:07 am

Where am I? I thought I was in South Carolina — a land devoted to the free market, low taxes, and conservative values. I guess those values include throwing taxpayers’ money at private activities unrelated to the public interest. Sounds like SOCIALISM! Where did the $160K come from? Is that state money or Charleston county? Maybe they thought by slapping the “Medal of Honor” moniker on the bowl game they could cow opposition with phony patriotism?

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Land 'O Idiots December 9, 2014 at 11:09 am

Fuck Football.

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Buz Martin December 9, 2014 at 11:12 am

Why isn’t FITS reporting that all 21 of Jim Cyburn’s Bill Cosby sweaters are now the targets of a major class action lawsuit by an unspecified number of women alleging rape?

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CoopTakesItInTheAsh December 9, 2014 at 11:33 am

The poor attendance and lack of television coverage evolved from the event being managed by the Citadel’s good ole’ boys rather than a legitimate PR firm. Nobody here, locally, outside of the citadel community even knew about the game except for some things to do listings in the local papers. If Fox News was approached well ahead of time, they could have ginned up the pro-military / Medal of Honor crowds and probably hyped things up a bit on a regional or national level. It ended up being run like a high school or D-III college football game.

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west_rhino December 9, 2014 at 11:43 am

Wait til the bowl becomes Joe Riley’s idea, then how will the tab fare compared to SouthEast Wildlife and the Spotato Festivus

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TheBeach December 9, 2014 at 3:07 pm

Southeastern Wildlife Expo has been known to get state dollars that have been carefully tucked away in DNR and PRT’s budgets.

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E Norma Scok December 9, 2014 at 12:20 pm

I though this was going to be about the Duck Dynasty bowl…that the Duck Dynasty boys literally paid nothing to sponsor. It was all done by the city and state.

http://forward-now.com/2014/05/08/duck-commander-sponsors-independence-bowl/

But with all the Clemson slamming lately, I doubt Fit’s has any room for this.

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Guest December 9, 2014 at 5:08 pm

I went last year and enjoyed the game. I respect your opinions in opposing the subsidy but some of you need to get off the internet in your mom’s basement and meet real people. Go to the game.

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west_rhino December 10, 2014 at 11:38 am

now it seems that Charleston Council is shocked to find that there is a Confederate association with the Citadel (and probably watermelon associated rituals).
Pragmatic pettiness, nothing to see here, move along

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