OPINION

Editorial: City’s deal with Pacers isn’t out of line

In a perfect world, cities and states would not subsidize professional sports.

That would mean, for instance, that the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois would not have poured out generous subsidies for U.S. Cellular Field, the home park of the White Sox. Memphis would not have built a $250 million publicly financed stadium for the NBA’s Grizzlies.

And Indianapolis would not continue to providelarge subsidies to the Indiana Pacers or the Indianapolis Colts.

But the world of sports financing and public policy is far from perfect. Cities such as Indianapolis are all but forced to pay if they want to play.

That reality has to be kept in mind when judging the city’s new $160 million, 13-year deal with the Pacers. It’s a tough reality to accept as our city struggles to pay for more police officers, better streets and attractive parks.

But if Indy balks, other cities such as Seattle almost certainly would step in to make their own generous offers.

City and community leaders made the decision years ago to rebuild Indy around sports, both amateur and professional. That strategy has paid off in amazing ways, as anyone who walked through Indy’s bleak Downtown of the 1970s can attest.

There’s no question that the Pacers and Colts add greatly to the vitality of this city. We would be a less attractive place to live and work without them. And our city would be far less visible on the national stage. Keeping the Pacers here — in a small market at a competitive disadvantage with teams from richer markets — comes at a cost, which includes maintaining Bankers Life Fieldhouse and ensuring that the primary tenants, the Pacers and the Indiana Fever, still attract thousands of fans Downtown for more than 50 dates a year.

Sports economists tell The Star that Indy’s subsidies for the Pacers aren’t out of line with deals cut by other cities. Ultimately, that’s the best measure of this new agreement — a deal that ensures no other city can snatch the team, and our investment, away.