The DC council passed a resolution yesterday for improvements in the Verizon Center. The improvements boil down to two things, a new HD scoreboard (yay!) and improvements for luxury boxes (boo!). Who will pay for these? Anyone who attends an event at Verizon Center.
There will be a fun new tax to people who purchase tickets to events at Verizon Center, as well as anyone that buys merchandise and concessions there. This money will go to the DC council, who will in turn pay for the improvements on a building that was
A. Built on land given to Pollin for free
B. Leased at a rediculously low price
C. Is allowed to live property tax free.
How about Pollin take some of the millions of dollars he saves annually on those deals and pays for it himself instead of gouging the common fan. It's not so much that I don't like paying taxes, I don't like the fact that the normal joes that go to events at the phone booth will be paying for improvements to the luxury suites, while big corporations sit back and write off paying for the suites as a business expense, and get a tax break on it. Something isn't kosher there.
There is still an opportunity for DC Mayor Adrian Fenty to veto the bill, but he's shown little willlingness to fight with the DC council.
So my tickets will go up about 4%-5% to cover improvements for people that sit in luxury suites. Meanwhile, I sit in what is literally a folding chair. Something isn't right with this picture.
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