Next Up in Selig's Free Stadium Game: Tampa Bay?

They've got a dynamic offense, a great new closer, and a 2008 World Series birth under their belt. Next up for the Rays: a new stadium?

According to the Tampa Bay Online, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig might involve himself in the stadium negotiations between Rays ownership and their municipality. This would be nothing new for Selig, who just last year helped Florida Marlins owner Jeffrey Luria to obtain a new publicly funded stadium.

I have written extensively about how professional sports leagues maintain an under-supply of teams to ensure public stadium financing. For example, in my law review article Sports and the City: How to Curb Sports Teams' Demands for Free Public Stadiums, I explain how the Florida Marlins pressured their municipality into providing huge subsidies by threatening to otherwise move to Las Vegas.

It will be interesting to see what develops in Tampa Bay. Until now, Rays owner Stuart Sternberg has not threatened franchise relocation. It is not clear, however, that Selig would follow the same classy approach.

Sports and the Law: The Marlins New Stadium; More Pork to the Fattest Pig in Town

Our friends at Above the Law have posted the latest article from SportsJudge.com founder Professor Marc Edelman, esq. Once again, Marc has pointed out the sheer lunacy of allowing local governments to spend taxpayer dollars to fund a stadium that will make a privately owned organization more wealthy. Perhaps we can pay for their dry cleaning also.

Dollars and Sense: Don't Cry for Me, David Samson

If General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner (the man who arrived in Washington DC last month on private jet, only to cry poverty) needs a new golfing buddy, let me recommend Florida Marlins President David Samson.

Earlier this year, Miami-Dade County executives agreed to provide Samson's Marlins with $347 million in public funding toward building a new stadium. However, even after receiving this handout, Samson was still refusing to spend money in the free agent market. When questioned about the Marlins' lack of free agent signings, Samson was quoted by the Palm Beach Post as saying the following:

I very much feel like the producer of an independent film trying to compete with a big-budget studio blockbuster. ... That's hard. The only way to do it is to have a low-budget film that is actually good that people will watch. We are very much like Juno going up against The Dark Knight.

Correct me if I am wrong, but I don't think Juno (or any other independent film) was given a $347 million government handout. Right?

And you Thought only the Mets were Playing in Taxpayer Field

Since the federal government's $700 billion bailout of the banking industry, many taxpayers have demanded that the New York Mets new stadium, Citi Field, be renamed Taxpayer Field. However, low and behold, it's not just the Mets that are enjoying free taxpayer money. Many teams, including the Florida Marlins, are actually getting huge stadium subsidies directly from local governments.

For those interested in the public funding of private baseball stadiums, check out my newest article in the Rutgers Journal of Law and Public Policy, entitled Sports and the City: How to Curb Professional Sports Teams' Demands for Free Public Stadiums (PDF).

I recommend you then contact Miami-Dade County officials about subsidizing a new computer to house your 2009 fantasy baseball team.