Would a New Blue Jays Stadium Be 'Sports Corporate Welfare?'

What will it take to keep the Toronto Blue Jays in Dunedin?

That's a question on many city and county officials' minds as the Major League Baseball team considers a possible move away from its spring training home since 1977. 

A team official recently told a Canadian reporter that Dunedin's stadium conditions and three-and-half mile distance from the clubhouse were reasons for considering a move. The team's lease at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium is up in 2017.

That leaves Dunedin officials and taxpayers faced with the possibility that they may have to pay for a new stadium facility, or at least renovations, to keep the Blue Jays around.

That doesn't sit well with at least one Dunedin resident, whose letter to the editor published Tuesday by Tampa Bay Newspapers argues the city should not pay to subsidize a new stadium for the Blue Jays.

Walter Gay writes:

If the teams can pay their players such high salaries, they can pay for their own multimillion-dollar stadiums. The tax-paying citizens of Dunedin should not be subsidizing private sports corporations “corporate welfare.” What a lame reasoning.

Some Patch readers have expressed similar sentiments.

"Does our city really need to spend time, energy and money to keep the Jays here, when (there) are many pressing issues that our town needs resolved," asked Mark Veldhuis.

"This is what professional sports teams do to small towns, see how much they can get from somewhere else and use it as a negotiating hammer from their existing host town," commented Bob Gallo. "It's all about the money but maybe at this point Dunedin has more to offer the Blue Jays than the Blue Jays have to offer Dunedin?"

"I don't think the Blue Jays are any thing to write home about, let alone use my tax dollars to lure them!!!" posted Jeanne Huntington.

What do you think? Do you agree with these comments? Or would you like to see taxpayer money go toward keeping the Blue Jays in Dunedin?

Post a comment below and join the conversation.

Related Coverage

• Dunedin Looks to Reaffirm Commitment to Toronto Blue Jays
• Blue Jays Looking to Leave Dunedin?
• What's Dunedin Saying About the Blue Jays
• Spending Package May Help Blue Jays Move to East Coast
• Could the Blue Jays Really Leave Dunedin?

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