BACKGROUND INFO (pick a scenario below)

Congratulations, you have been recently elected the mayor of the city of Cincinnati. Shortly after assuming your new position, you are contacted by Mike Brown, the owner of the Cincinnati Bengals. He is concerned about the aging facility of Paul Brown Stadium (PBS). The stadium is nearly 25 years old and is no longer considered state-of-the-art. This is causing him to lose revenue compared to other franchises in the league and, as he argues, preventing him from competing for NFL championships. He is requesting $250m+ in 'stadium enhancements' to PBS to improve amenities, luxury boxes, and the fan experience. He has significant leverage in the situation. In fact, he has threatened to re-locate the Bengals to St. Louis, where they have promised a brand new stadium.

QUESTION( pick one)

a). Authorize the use of public money to subsidize major renovations to keep the Bengals in Cincinnati.

If you choose this response, you might consider addressing any of the following: how much are you willing to subsidize and why? How will you raise funds for the upgrades? Will you use taxes, debt financing, or another method and why? What are the pros and cons of your chosen payment method? How much of the stadium will you subsidize? If you choose to partially subsidize the stadium, where specifically will the public money go? What are the positive externalities from having the Bengals and what are the negative? Do the positive outweigh the negative? The tangible and intangible? What is the overall economic impact of hosting the Bengals in Cincinnati?

b). Reject the Bengals request and risk losing them to St. Louis

If you choose this response, explain why you think a public subsidy to keep the Bengals is a bad idea? What are the problems with the ways in which city's have traditionally financed publicly subsidized stadiums? What is not included in economic impact studies? What do you risk politically and why? What will be the response from the public and interest groups? How are you going to present your rationale to the public? What about the theory of public choice, are the Bengals a public good? What are the positive externalities from having the Reds and what are the negative? Do the negative outweigh the positive?The tangible and intangible? What economic impact would losing the Bengals have on the city of Cincinnati?