Sure, he eventually delivered on an old promise to bring an all-star game to Raleigh, but National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman deserves a penalty for his role in a scheme to saddle Arizona taxpayers with a $100 million bill associated with the private sale of the Phoenix Coyotes.
Our friends at the free-market Goldwater Institute offer this background:
Chicago businessman Matt Hulsizer is trying to buy the Phoenix Coyotes hockey team, and as part of that deal will be paid $100 million by the City of Glendale, Arizona. But Arizona has a provision in its state Constitution called the Gift Clause that prevents these types of giveaways to private businesses. We have raised red flags with the city, media, and bond rating agencies that this deal may violate the Arizona Constitution. As a result, the City of Glendale has threatened to sue us?for $500 million. And [Tuesday] night, the commissioner of the National Hockey League, Gary Bettman, came to Phoenix and held a press conference to chastise us for standing in the way.
During his press conference, Bettman said, ?It fascinates me that whoever is running the Goldwater Institute can substitute their judgment for that of the Glendale city council.? To which Darcy Olsen, our CEO, replied, ?I guess we are both fascinated…It happens to fascinate me that the Commissioner thinks Glendale can substitute its judgment for the rule of law.?
This is a textbook case of corporate welfare and a great example of what we are all fighting every day to stop. The bottom line is that if this guy wants to own the team, and make money from it, then he should do what every other business owner does: buy the team with his own money.
As the John Locke Foundation noted in an entry on ?Convention centers, stadiums, water parks, and restaurants? in its latest City-County Issue Guide:
City council members and county commissioners should not use taxpayer funds to fund projects in the private sector. They have no expertise as venture capitalists, and they don?t bear the financial risks of their choices. It is no surprise that the vast majority of these projects fail, leaving the taxpayers holding the bag.
