Spring Training!

For those of you that don't know, Pima County is in potential jeopardy of losing our remaining Spring Training teams - the Diamondbacks and the Rockies. Did you realize that each Spring Training team pumps in approximately $10,000,000 through hotels, restaurants, rental cars, etc... money that enters our local economy and provides local jobs and businesses a much needed source of revenue? While yes, there is a tax included to cover the cost of the sports facility, that tax is offset every year by that $10,000,000 - $30,000,000 coming into our local economy.

Or think of it this way: You go out to eat, you spend $100 on a meal for you and a date... you pay an extra $0.25 on the bill. Meanwhile, Brad Hawpe of the Colorado Rockies comes into the same restaurant... sits down with 10 of his friends and family, and rings up a bill of $2000. That's $2000 dollars coming out of Colorado's economy, and being planted in ours, not to mention the $5.00 in tax he paid towards the ballpark. Now, think of all the fans that pour in over the course of a month. Ta Da! $10,000,000 that Pima County now has that it didn't have before.

The additional benefit to the new stadium? By locating it in the Marana area, you now give families with kids involved in baseball and softball a complex to use the rest of the year - one that is fully lit and high quality. Local traveling youth baseball now has a place within the Tucson area to hold tournaments - and 30 minutes closer to Phoenix! You give the NW side of Tucson a venue to host large scale concerts and events. Finally, by adding to an as-of-yet undeveloped area, you give businesses such as sports bars, restaurants, and hotels the chance to build new facilities within the immediate vicinity of the complex, making it easier for those visiting Spring Training to support our local business with their patronage.

Yes, agreeing to a tax in this economy can be frustrating. Trust me, as a Tea Partier, it's hard to come out and support an additional tax. However, it's as much about how the money is spent, as it is about how much is taken from us. This is not a $30,000 griffin along a glorified alleyway, nor is it a wall around an empty lot. This is not an $820,000 video to go into a building that is not built yet, nor anytime soon. This is real investment - investment in Marana, investment in Pima County, and Tucson as a whole.