this post was submitted on 20 Dec 2023
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Not only they aren't cheap, but they are pretty much never profitable. If we are to build things that are not profitable, we could as well build something that will offer a service to the population, like public transportation.
Not profitable, But for whom?
Contracts that big have a lot of grease and going on. Someone's leasing that land from someone else.
The people In charge have a friend or two that own a few blocks of land just outside the site? Political capital, bribes, and contracts.
Hell, even the bus or rail line will face the same issues.
A lot of unprofitable ventures happen in government. It's a sneaky way too steal tax money.
I don't care or expect public services to be profitable, just lower cost and higher quality than a private Enterprise version.
Do we need quality, clean, reliable drinking water? Then don't depend on shitrag nestle, who will figure out how to make it a stratified subscription.
Hell, without competition, even taxis can be held to a standard.
We're going to pay a fortune for the government to provide safe infrastructure. But they're going to hire all the right people vet them and make sure they do it right. Until they don't.
Even NASA had to fall hard to get put back on track. I still think government services are the best option. Damn if the water isn't fucking muddy. Pun not intended but I kind of like it.
A lot of your points, valid as they are, can be addressed if we have good transparency and oversight.
Let's take advantage of how digital life has become, make reports accessible to the regular Jane/joe that detail where our tax dollars went.
Not by fares, but by reduced loads on roads and increased building density. They're infrastructure. Roads aren't profitable either.
A stadium is a service to the public. Stadiums are amenities, and increase happiness among the citizens that enjoy events. Even Sid Meyer's Civ game has an amenities concept, because they're really important for cities. If there's no entertainment options in the city, then all of the talented people leave. That means all of the corporations with great jobs for talented people leave too. With them goes all the money, and you're left with urban decay and poverty. Yes, transportation is important, but so are amenities.
The A’s are a nuisance, not a service.
Baseball games aren't the only thing that happen at baseball stadiums. I agree with you about the A's though. That's a tragedy of a team, especially considering their previous highs.
Besides what Civ says, a lot of stadiums are built for a one time special event, like the olympics or some world cup.
I'm thinking about the olympic stadium of Montreal (which I think the post was about). It was built for the olympics of 76 and cost around a billion dollars at the time.
Since we don't have a baseball team anymore, it is used only once in a while for music shows, but the acoustic is horrible because it wasn't built for it. In my lifetime, I honestly never went inside for an event.
And now, the government is talking about a plan to repair it for an other billion. At this point, the only reason to keep it is because it's so old and unique. Plus, it would just costs too much to demolish it.
It does bring a bunch of tourists annually, but for local people, it's either seen as a weird relic of the past or a big scam.
Also, why can't I just be a peaceful barbarian? Why would my population need amenities anyway? And who told them what is a stadium?
Because barbarians get crushed under the weight of civilization.