the citizen-viewer

I must admit that when the Jets' West Side Stadium plan bit the dust last year I enjoyed a moment of optimism. Perhaps we were finally figuring out that pro sports teams are nothing more that extortionists when it comes to building new stadiums.

Now New York's City Council has approved a new stadium for the Yankees, in a plan that would reduced parkland in the Bronx while increasing parking. Both developments are bad for the Bronx and for the city. As usual the citizen-viewers will foot a big part of the bill -- $138 million to demolish the current stadium, $70 million toward new parking garages that will contribute to traffic and air pollution. And that's just for starters. There's also a complicated tax and bond scheme that seems to have been designed to hide the rest of the subsidy from prying c-v eyes. All told, it may add up to more than $400 million.

But the Yankees, a private and hugely profitable operation, won't be the only beneficiaries of the taxpayers' unwitting largesse. As I suspected, it also turns out that the new stadium will feature many more luxury skyboxes -- 60 instead of the current 18. These skyboxes are a favorite of politicians, who somehow end up enjoying many games from the comfort of these skyboxes while being wined and dined by their wealthier constituents. Ask Jack Abramoff, the king of the skybox.

I would like to see politicians who support these stadium deals take a simple pledge: that they will never, ever, set foot in one of these skyboxes unless they are paying the whole tab, including the champagne, the caviar and the cigars, out of their own pocket.

Either that, or starting treating these professional sports teams like the private businesses they are, and let them pay for their own facilities. Next up: the Mets.

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