ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS PLUS

We recently took a look at Khufu, the 4th Dynasty pharaoh who built the Great Pyramid of Giza. The Great Pyramid is one of the oldest structures on Earth and without a doubt the best built. At an original height of over 480 feet (145 m), the pyramid stands as one of the world's greatest, unexplained accomplishments. To this day, the actual movement and placement of the stones is considered a mystery. Its colossal weight and size represents not only the spirit of Black men, but our African culture and the aspirations of Black men.

More than $3 billion in completed sports construction projects (new construction or major renovations and expansions) are scheduled to come off the boards this year, nearly double what was spent in 2006, and marking the industry’s biggest spend since 2003. No new major league arenas are scheduled to open until mid-2009, meaning that since the 1997-2005 boom period that saw the opening of 19 such buildings, only three have opened since. Three major league stadiums are expected to come online this year. Next year is expected to be even more robust, with nearly $7 billion in projects scheduled to wrap up and even more on the books through 2010 as follows:


	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003
Major stadiums	$739.50	$774.00	$1,180.00	$1,392.00	$1,265.60	$1,627.00	$1,937.00
Major arenas	$444.00	$212.00	$1,737.00	$285.00	$420.00	$193.00	$432.00
College arenas	$317.20	$393.30	$333.10	$492.90	$248.20	$630.00	$432.10
College stadiums	$232.10	$270.00	$301.90	$303.60	$635.50	$317.30	$633.80
Minor arenas	$81.50	$129.00	$264.10	$305.20	$321.30	$359.50	$717.90
Minor stadiums	$167.50	$158.20	$149.60	$226.60	$282.10	$364.20	$214.80
	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
Major stadiums	$933.00	$92.00	$1,078.30	$202.00	$1,537.10	$3,275.00	$3,242.00
Major arenas	$264.00	$414.00	$32.50	$651.00	$ —	$1,300.00	$480.00
College arenas	$393.90	$341.50	$299.40	$238.80	$317.50	$337.00	$424.50
College stadiums	$337.20	$663.00	$622.20	$151.10	$696.20	$1,161.00	$125.00
Minor arenas	$71.00	$384.90	$209.00	$14.10	$608.70	$244.50	$ —
Minor stadiums	$139.30	$185.40	$151.00	$143.10	$183.50	$382.50	$ —

With over $10 billion in construction spending related to sports facilities projected over the next few years….all of which will house teams dominated by Black athletes, I pose the following question to our readers:

How much of the spending on the Nationals $700 million stadium is the DC Department of Small and Local Business Development going to break off for contractors who look like the players who will call the stadium home…with the project being financed by the sale of $608 million in bonds? How much will the State of Indiana break off for contractors of color in connection with the construction of the $699.2 million new home for the Cots, Lucas Oil Stadium...when $45 million is being provided by Marion County via a food and beverage tax; $22 million from the county hotel tax; $6 million from a tax on sporting event tickets; $6million from a restaurant tax; and $5 million from a car rental tax? Missouri State’s diversity outreach program is supposed to ensure that businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals have an equal opportunity to participate on contracts and project work administered by the University. With a $67 million new basketball arena set to open in November, I dare someone to determine how much was broken off for contractors of color…even though a total of $32 million of the cost will be covered by bonds. I won’t even bother to ask how much is being broke off for contractors of color in connection with the $68.9 million arena opening in September on the campus of Northern Kentucky …even though $54 million in funding was provided by the State of Kentucky…or the $80.5 million arena set to open this fall on the campus of St. Louis University…even though nearly $30 million of the cost will come from the sale of bonds.

It you still don’t get it, consider that $178 million of the $240 million to build the Bok Center in Tulsa to house the Arena League Football and NBA D-League team will come from Tulsa County sales taxes which had been used for regional economic development....and still no builders, contractors, framers, pipe fitters, construction manager, merchandise concessionaires of color and no completion or performance bonds, liability insurance or related construction services provided by individuals or firms of color.

As long as we don’t say anything, nothing will change. Please reach out to the many politicians we are supporting during this election season and Why…or better yet, Why Not?

If you have questions or require additional information, please contact Everett L. Glenn, Esq. at eglenn@espsportslawpro.com or call 562.619.8460.