The issue of a new stadium for the Colts has been around for a while, but it looks like this last week of the 2005 session for the General Assembly could really be the final showdown, Colts Vs. Kids for the Tax Dollar Bowl championship. People on both sides of the issue of House Bill 1120, which would create various regional and local taxes to fund the new stadium have shown their passion and determination to see it either fail or succeed. Certainly, season ticket-holders like Paul Moore, who was quoted by WISH-TV as saying, "I just would like to see them get it done and do it and just have a new stadium. I think the Colts deserve it," believes it is well worth cutting funding for anywhere between 129 and 144 school districts in Indiana so the 53 millionaires who spend their weekends grappling with other millionaires from across the nation can have a new playground. With more luxury boxes. And fewer seats affordable for the general public. Don't get me wrong, I love football. Real football. I mean at the college and high school levels. Not this farce of a game the NFL is cramming down our throats with $100 million contracts and make-it-up-as-you-go rules. Also, it's very possible that if we don't give these bandits what they want, they'll mosey to greener pastures, like Los Angeles for example. Anyone who doubts the Colts willingness to bleed a city dry and leave them at the drop of a hat should consult with the people of Baltimore and ask them what happened one dark night in 1984.
Those who support building the Colts a new stadium offer such feeble arguments as the jobs such a stadium will create. While there would be new work in building the stadium, once the new park was built, it would just be more of the same $6-per-hour jobs the RCA dome already has. Those who see our kids as more of a worthy investment than the Irsay family and his merry band of reverse-Robin Hoods would like to increase the spending on our public education rather than stand for the budget cuts, which could be anywhere from $2-4 million over the next two years. Aren't our children more worthy of our tax dollars than a group of multi-millionaires who are already threatening to leave if we don't do what they want? Isn't the educational and economic stability of our state and ultimately nation more important than providing the Colts a new stadium where fewer and fewer of us can even afford to attend a game? That this is even an issue is amazing. Our lawmakers in Indianapolis are seriously considering a budget that would make the Colts a priority before our children. If this is what it takes to have a professional team in Indiana, I'll volunteer to help them pack for L.A.
Peyton Manning may never be able to beat the Patriots, but if we allow our lawmakers to enact a budget that cuts funding for schools but raises taxes to proved the Colts a new toy, he'll have scored a blowout win vs. the children of Indiana.
Write to Robb at
robb614@aol.com
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