David Beckham’s soccer stadium
On Jan. 26, the Miami Young Republicans held a meeting to discuss soccer coming to Miami. While some in attendance seemed to be concerned with how to get to the stadium, I was more concerned about applauding the members of the David Beckham group for paying their own tab.
The event in South Miami also boasted a broader conversation about whether taxpayer dollars should be used to prop up privately owned sports teams, including this latest development to erect another sports complex.
It was a pretty simple argument to make. No! Florida economists reported last year that incentives to professional sports only net taxpayers 30 cents for every dollar invested.
So when sports ventures like Beckham’s decide to forgo an injection of taxpayer cash and claim that they will also pay their fair share in property taxes, we should celebrate those victories.
Andres Malave,
Key Biscayne
This story was originally published February 5, 2016 at 6:49 PM with the headline "David Beckham’s soccer stadium."