Field of Schemes
LightNews LightNews
fieldofschemes.com.web.brid.gy
Field of Schemes
@fieldofschemes.com.web.brid.gy
5 followers 0 following 700 posts
sports stadium news and analysis

[bridged from https://fieldofschemes.com/ on the web: https://fed.brid.gy/web/fieldofschemes.com ]
Posts Replies Media Videos
fieldofschemes.com.web.brid.gy
Friday roundup: Trail Blazers, Lightning owners join Devils in asking states to fund their arena upgrades because reasons
The way this week has gone, you can be forgiven if you just want to avoid the news entirely. If you’ve come here to be cheered up by some less depressing news … that’s never a good idea, but there are maybe some amusing bits, and nobody has gotten killed (so far), so I guess […]
www.fieldofschemes.com
January 9, 2026 at 10:46 PM
fieldofschemes.com.web.brid.gy
Royals suitors dropping like flies, Kansas Chiefs stadium still faces bond questions
If Kansas City Royals owner John Sherman was hoping that the Chiefs announcing a move across the border to the state of Kansas in exchange for around $4 billion in subsidies would spark a bidding war for his own team, well, not so much, it appears. Kansas house speaker Dan Hawkins declared this week that the December […]
www.fieldofschemes.com
January 8, 2026 at 10:45 PM
fieldofschemes.com.web.brid.gy
House speaker to Bears: Demanding new stadium is “insensitive” to Illinoisans’ real needs
Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch was asked yesterday about the state possibly helping the Chicago Bears ownership build a new stadium now that they’re threatening to seek one out in Indiana, and he didn’t mince words: This is not to be insensitive to the Bears and their ownership, but when these folks are out knocking on […]
www.fieldofschemes.com
January 7, 2026 at 10:51 PM
fieldofschemes.com.web.brid.gy
A’s denied trademark on “Vegas Athletics” name, everybody LOL
LOLAthletics social media has been lit up for the last 24 hours with the news — actually first reported on Friday on an intellectual property blog, but hardly anyone noticed for a few days — that the United States Patent and Trademark Office denied A’s ownership a trademark on the names “Las Vegas Athletics” and […]
www.fieldofschemes.com
January 7, 2026 at 10:50 PM
fieldofschemes.com.web.brid.gy
NJ bill would give Devils $300m for arena renovations, amid $1.5B state budget shortfall
Over the last couple of years, billionaire private equity goon Josh Harris has been among the most active sports owners at winning public approval for new venue projects, first getting Philadelphia’s okay for a downtown arena for the 76ers and leveraging that into a new joint arena plan with the Flyers owners, then landing the most lucrative […]
www.fieldofschemes.com
January 6, 2026 at 10:44 PM
fieldofschemes.com.web.brid.gy
Kansas council rep sets up website to calculate how many billions Chiefs stadium would cost taxpayers
The Kansas Reflector has done a deeper dive into how the STAR bonds for a new Kansas City Chiefs stadium in Kansas would work, and while it doesn’t change the likely total subsidies much — we’re still talking a couple billion here, a couple billion there — there are some worthwhile takeaways. First off, this is […]
www.fieldofschemes.com
January 5, 2026 at 10:48 PM
fieldofschemes.com.web.brid.gy
Friday roundup: The year that stadium subsidies went completely nuts
One year ago today, this site ran an item headlined “Was the Carolina Panthers’ $650m renovation deal really the worst of 2024? An investimagation,” in response to the Center for Economic Accountability declaring Charlotte the winner of that dubious distinction. The conclusion: The Panthers deal was bad, but there were plenty of other contenders, like […]
www.fieldofschemes.com
January 2, 2026 at 10:43 PM
fieldofschemes.com.web.brid.gy
Experts debate just how many billions of dollars Kansas will lose on Chiefs stadium deal
It’s been a whole 48 hours since the last Kansas City Chiefs stadium update — here’s what’s been happening: After my back-of-the-envelope estimates on Monday that tax revenue from a Chiefs stadium wouldn’t come close to paying off Kansas’s $1.8 billion in stadium bonds — let alone the $3 billion in total bond costs including […]
www.fieldofschemes.com
December 31, 2025 at 10:50 PM
fieldofschemes.com.web.brid.gy
Cleveland still has no money for Cavs, Guardians upgrades, is resorting to stalling
The controversy continues over the city of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County having to cover more than $400 million in upcoming repair costs for the Guardians stadium and Cavaliers arena despite having no money to do it with. And according to Cleveland.com, there’s nothing the local governments can do about it: Under its lease agreements with the Cleveland […]
www.fieldofschemes.com
December 30, 2025 at 10:40 PM
fieldofschemes.com.web.brid.gy
How Kansas governor claims $4B Chiefs stadium subsidy will cost “no new taxes,” and whether this makes any damn sense
Judging from my email, the proposed Kansas City Chiefs stadium deal with the state of Kansas has set off a wave of cognitive dissonance among sports fans and taxpayers: Gov. Laura Kelly says that the state will spend $1.8 billion on a new stadium — really more like $4 billion, counting tax breaks and subsidies for […]
www.fieldofschemes.com
December 30, 2025 at 10:40 PM
fieldofschemes.com.web.brid.gy
Friday roundup: Chiefs stadium to cost all Kansans tax money, Royals up next
I have to figure hardly anyone is reading this here on Christmas weekend, but for those of you who are, here’s an abbreviated news roundup, much of it about the proposed Kansas City Chiefs stadium deal, because almost everything is this week: The STAR bonds that Kansas plans to use to finance $1.8 billion worth […]
www.fieldofschemes.com
December 27, 2025 at 10:40 PM
fieldofschemes.com.web.brid.gy
Chiefs stadium subsidy hits $4.1B, could siphon off taxes from 293-square-mile swath of Kansas
It’s been a whirlwind couple of days since Monday’s announcement that the state of Kansas was offering Kansas City Chiefs owner Clark Hunt billions of dollars in cash and tax breaks to move across the border from Missouri, and more details are still only now becoming clear. Catching up on the latest: After I guesstimated […]
www.fieldofschemes.com
December 25, 2025 at 10:39 PM
fieldofschemes.com.web.brid.gy
Judge puts 14-day hold on Ohio gifting Browns owner $600m from unclaimed private funds
As we near the end of a year that seems to have been nonstop sports team owners getting everything they wanted and then some, an Ohio judge has dropped some coal in Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam’s stocking: Franklin County Commons Plea Judge Bill Sperlazza issued a 14-day temporary restraining order against the state of Ohio […]
www.fieldofschemes.com
December 25, 2025 at 10:39 PM
fieldofschemes.com.web.brid.gy
Chiefs sign nonbinding deal to move to Kansas that could cost taxpayers $3B+
The Kansas City Chiefs are moving to Kansas! The Kansas City Chiefs are … maybe moving to Kansas? The Kansas City Chiefs have said they’re moving to Kansas, somewhere, definitely, once they work out the details of how to cash an enormous check from state taxpayers. Here’s what we know so far: The Kansas state legislature’s Legislative […]
www.fieldofschemes.com
December 23, 2025 at 10:39 PM
fieldofschemes.com.web.brid.gy
Friday roundup: Chiefs to ramp up Kansas saber-rattling, Bears’ Indiana move threat gets cool reception in Illinois
Are people still flipping out about Chicago Bears management acknowledging that Indiana is next door to Illinois and they could try to build a stadium there if they wanted? Yep. Does that mostly come down to “fans in Indiana would be happy with a shorter drive and those in Chicago would be unhappy with a longer […]
www.fieldofschemes.com
December 20, 2025 at 10:39 PM
fieldofschemes.com.web.brid.gy
Bears exec finally threatens to move team to Indiana in fight for $1B in Illinois public money
Chicago Bears execs have been asking Illinois for a pile of dough for a new stadium for years now, and have been consistently told by state leaders to go pound sand. And as a famous Chicagoan once almost said, “When the going gets tough, the tough seek leverage.” So it came to pass yesterday that […]
www.fieldofschemes.com
December 20, 2025 at 10:39 PM
fieldofschemes.com.web.brid.gy
Stadium questions the media shouldn’t even bother asking
If you’ve been reading this site for any length of time, you’ll know that I’m a big fan of Betteridge’s Law of Headlines, which states, to save you from having to click through, that “Any headline that ends in a question mark can be answered by the word no.” It’s not 100% accurate — sometimes […]
www.fieldofschemes.com
December 17, 2025 at 10:38 PM
fieldofschemes.com.web.brid.gy
Columbus council approves first $100m in public money for Blue Jackets, $150m still to go
The Columbus city council on Monday unanimously approved raising ticket taxes at the Blue Jackets‘ arena from 5% to 7%, while also increasing the share of the city’s casino tax that goes towards arena upgrades from 32% to 50%. As discussed last week, this is the first installment of a proposed $250 million in public […]
www.fieldofschemes.com
December 17, 2025 at 10:38 PM
fieldofschemes.com.web.brid.gy
Denver council puts off soccer stadium vote till next Monday amid public funding questions
The Denver city council met last night to cast a vote on moving forward with what could be $175 million in cash and tax breaks for a stadium for the Denver Summit NWSL team … and instead punted: The council delayed voting on rezoning the Santa Fe Yards property near Interstate 25 and Broadway, but still […]
www.fieldofschemes.com
December 16, 2025 at 10:37 PM
fieldofschemes.com.web.brid.gy
Vancouver gives preliminary okay to build Whitecaps stadium on public land amid move threats
One week after MLS commissioner Don Garber said the Vancouver Whitecaps needed a “better lease” or else it’d be a shame about those paratroopers, the Vancouver city council and team owners have signed a memorandum of understanding to “explore” a new stadium and an entertainment district around it at a recently closed city-owned racetrack. And while […]
www.fieldofschemes.com
December 15, 2025 at 10:37 PM
fieldofschemes.com.web.brid.gy
Friday roundup: What if schools got all the money they needed and sports teams had to hold bake sales to build stadiums?
Yes, that story about nobody knowing how much the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics cost because the Olympic committee literally set fire to its financial records is incredible, and yes, I really need to make a fridge magnet about it. This is more a note to myself than to you all, feel free to skip ahead […]
www.fieldofschemes.com
December 13, 2025 at 10:36 PM
fieldofschemes.com.web.brid.gy
FIFA’s bait-and-switch on sponsorships could cost US cities $250m during 2026 World Cup
I was on a stadium panel at Baruch College yesterday — video evidence to be available shortly, I hope — and one of the points I tried to make was that both elected officials and voters need to closely examine stadium deals, because the total costs almost always involve something hidden in the fine print, […]
www.fieldofschemes.com
December 13, 2025 at 10:36 PM
fieldofschemes.com.web.brid.gy
Building Royals stadium in Kansas could cost state 3,500 T-Mobile workers
T-Mobile announced yesterday that it will move its 3,500 workers from its Aspiria Campus office in Overland Park if the Kansas City Royals are allowed to build a stadium next door, saying the site “cannot accommodate both our workforce and a stadium.” While the phone company said it hopes to stay “preferably within the city and […]
www.fieldofschemes.com
December 10, 2025 at 10:20 PM
fieldofschemes.com.web.brid.gy
Stop the presses: Rays stadium site search continues to search for stadium site
Baseball’s winter meetings are on this week in Orlando, which means lots of opportunities for reporters to hobnob with team execs and fill column inches with whatever comes out of their mouths. So you probably could have predicted that Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, who has made an art form of this or […]
www.fieldofschemes.com
December 9, 2025 at 10:39 PM
fieldofschemes.com.web.brid.gy
Who would pay for Blue Jackets’ billionaire owner’s $250m arena subsidy: a FAQ
Not sure if this is a sign of how few readers here care about the Columbus Blue Jackets, but when I wrote on Friday that the team owners are “receiving $200 million in state money plus $25 million each from the city and county,” nobody pointed out that this is still just proposed by the Franklin […]
www.fieldofschemes.com
December 8, 2025 at 10:39 PM