Trivell, I've got a sports trivia question for you.

Okay, not my usual area of expertise, but go for it.

Okay, I think you can probably answer this one.

What do the Arizona Cardinals, Baltimore Orioles, and Pittsburgh Penguins have in common.

Oh, this is easy. They're all named after birds.

Okay, yes, okay, technically yes, okay, but also and more importantly for our purposes today all of them play home games and stadiums paid for in large part by local taxpayers

Okay, so hold on now aren't sports teams owned by literal billionaires?

Why would they need taxpayer money to fund stadiums?

That sounds odd to say the least.

It is odd, but it is incredibly common.

And it's getting even more common

billionaire team owners keep asking for and getting more exorbitant

stadiums and upgrades from local governments.

In fact, 2024 is on track to be the biggest year ever

for public stadium subsidies.

This despite the fact that most economists believe that the projected return on public

investment never lives up to the hype.

Which means if you're like me and will likely never buy a game ticket, you're probably still

paying for sports.

I'm Erin Ryan.

I'm Travel Anderson, subbing in for Max Fisher who will be back next week.

This is how we got here, the show where we ask a big question about one of the week's headlines and tell a story that answers that question.

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