On 5/17/05 10:03 PM, "Jenny Heiser" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Where is Phyllis Kahn when we need her to once again expound on her previously > stated ideas about how community ownership of a sports team and its venue > might be feasible? Do the folks who promote this idea of community ownership understand that the decision on who owns a Major League Baseball franchise is not made by city officials, by county officials or by state officials? The decision on something like that is made by the collective team owners that make up Major League Baseball. And it has been stated on record by their commissioner, along with several team owners, that a public ownership proposal will not be approved. And they can do that so long as they maintain the anti-trust exemption that was granted to them by the U.S. Congress, for any of you who want to entertain the notion of suing Major League Baseball over their ownership structure. Folks who point to the Green Bay Packers don't seem to realize that this is one team that is publicly-owned out of all of the teams that make up the National Football League, Major League Baseball, National Basketball League and National Hockey League. That's one team out of more than 100 major professional sports franchises. And it happened some forty years ago, before professional sports became the billion-dollar industry that it is today. No other team since ever coming close to copying that structure. In the meantime, there have been probably dozens of professional sports facilities constructed around the country. Do you really think that there have been no attempts at community/public ownership elsewhere? And if there have been and they've just been unsuccessful, what alternate tactics or strategies do you propose that may possibly result in a different outcome than what has occurred everywhere else? Or, if you have no ideas on alternate tactics or strategies, why are you wasting our time with this fantasy? Mark Snyder Windom Park REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
