Coates warms to his theme:
“If we are going to allow charitable donations, we should think about what the ultimate purpose of those donations happens to be,” Coates said in an interview. “When one thinks of charity, they don’t think of charity flowing to the head football coach of a big state university.”
Coates also questioned muni financing for stadiums. “Using the borrowing power of the state and tax-exempt interest to build stadiums for sporting events isn’t the real purpose of the university, either,” he said.
The state of Washington, which isn’t totally insane, refused to pay through direct taxation for a University of Washington stadium renovation which will sideline and rip off students, but will be wonderful for corporations.
The university will do the deed anyway, taking advantage of indirect tax subsidies.
And here’s the horseshit from the university about how lucrative the new stadium’s going to be.
The Huskies estimate that the new suites and premium seating will raise $16 million a year in donations.
Additionally, the athletic department projects that other stadium-related revenue, such as ticket sales, naming rights and concessions‚ will increase by $17 million, or 57 percent, to $47.5 million annually, according to Assistant Athletic Director Carter Henderson. That will more than cover payments on the stadium debt of $15.9 million, the school says.
That’s absolutely gonna happen.