Delay in New Arena Site Selection

[Markedman]

Amazon the company takes business away from local malls but having the Amazon "distribution facility" here doesn't. They were doing business here anyway.......having the distribution center here instead of Illinois is a big plus for the area and state.

[IWB]

Part time jobs...and the indirect figure is misleading because those jobs would exist elsewhere. Many of Amazon's jobs are full time with benefits.

No - first off, a good chunk of Amazon' will be part time. They aren't going to be giving 500 order pickers full benefits.

Also, when it comes to the indirect employees of the Bradley Center, tell me where the contracted security guards, caterers, bartenders and cleaning crew would exist on nights when the Bucks are gone? Will there suddenly be a need to bring a full security crew, caterers and cleaning staff to some other event that won't be happening in town?

[TheSultan]

No - first off, a good chunk of Amazon' will be part time. They aren't going to be giving 500 order pickers full benefits.

Also, when it comes to the indirect employees of the Bradley Center, tell me where the contracted security guards, caterers, bartenders and cleaning crew would exist on nights when the Bucks are gone? Will there suddenly be a need to bring a full security crew, caterers and cleaning staff to some other event that won't be happening in town?

There are all sorts of places where part time hourly workers can work. People will spend their entertainment dollars elsewhere. This has been shown again and again in economic studies. Assumptions like yours simply do not hold up.

And I never said Amazon wouldn't have part time jobs. Just that many of them will be full time.

[IWB]

There are all sorts of places where part time hourly workers can work. People will spend their entertainment dollars elsewhere. This has been shown again and again in economic studies. Assumptions like yours simply do not hold up.

And I never said Amazon wouldn't have part time jobs. Just that many of them will be full time.

Really? Do you realize how many people come from Illinois for Bucks games? How many people from Illinois come for concerts? Will those people still come to do other things?

How many people travel with a team for games? When the Knicks come to town, their staff comes, their team comes, the New York media comes....they all stay in hotels, eat at restaurants etc. Who comes with no team? Nobody. Not to mention how many fans come when the Bucks play Chicago.

Now onto employees. They will find employment elsewhere? Seriously? Most all of them do already have employment elsewhere, but this is part of their income. What, the Bucks move and 400+ people that work on game day are suddenly going to find part time employment because people will spend entertainment dollars elsewhere? Yeah, the Bucks moved - AMC movie theaters are hiring 200 people as theaters around Milwaukee are seeing a massive increase in movie attendance.

[TheSultan]

Really? Do you realize how many people come from Illinois for Bucks games? How many people from Illinois come for concerts? Will those people still come to do other things?

How many people travel with a team for games? When the Knicks come to town, their staff comes, their team comes, the New York media comes....they all stay in hotels, eat at restaurants etc. Who comes with no team? Nobody. Not to mention how many fans come when the Bucks play Chicago.

Now onto employees. They will find employment elsewhere? Seriously? Most all of them do already have employment elsewhere, but this is part of their income. What, the Bucks move and 400+ people that work on game day are suddenly going to find part time employment because people will spend entertainment dollars elsewhere? Yeah, the Bucks moved - AMC movie theaters are hiring 200 people as theaters around Milwaukee are seeing a massive increase in movie attendance.

IWB, your anecdotal evidence is fine and good. It just doesn't hold up to study after study that indicates that government entities do not make money on such deals and that the overall impact on employment is minimal.

That being said, I want this deal to go forward because I like having the NBA in Milwaukee. I think the new owners are going to be a shot in the arm for this franchise like with Anastasio (sp) and the Brewers. I also think that having economic activity downtown, versus spread out over the area, is a good thing for any metropolitan area.

But if the state spends money on this, it will not make that money back. It isn't an "investment." It's an expense.

[Goose85]

I seriously doubt that Amazon, with hundreds of robotic employees, or the other companies the state has helped expand, stay or relocate, means more money to the state than the Bucks. State income tax alone, because of the Bucks organization, could very well approach / exceed $20 million after the next TV deal. I don't think the 1,500 people at Amazon will be making the kind of money that will kick in that level of revenue to the state coffers.

An Amazon distribution center doesn't brings world wide attention to the city like an NBA team does (how is that valued?).
Amazon doesn't have the opportunity to bring in over $50 million in direct spending should we land an all star game.
Nobody would come to Milwaukee for a weekend because of an Amazon distribution center, but they do for sports.
Just this weekend I saw a number of G-Town fans at the MU game, here for the weekend. Spoke to a few, in from DC and Chicago.
Don't underestimate the value of having NBA / MLB teams in a city in attracting young executives to stay or relocate to a city.

[Alan Bykowski, "brewcity77"]

But if the state spends money on this, it will not make that money back. It isn't an "investment." It's an expense.

If the state is required to kick in $100M, it will make that back in under 10 years through the jock tax.

[IrwinFletcher]

http://news.yahoo.com/super-bowl-hos...080133349.html


Something to consider.