Stadium plan would generate funds for state

To the editor:

This is a response to the Speak Out caller who replied to my recent letter regarding the proposed Cardinals stadium. The caller asked if there are no tax abatements being asked for, what are taxpayers being asked to pay? A tax abatement is asking the state to forgo tax revenue generated. That is not the case with the proposed stadium. The Cardinals are asking the state to pay for one-third of the cost of the new stadium. This amounts to a fraction of the revenue that would be generated by this project. For every dollar the state puts into the project, it would receive $4 back. That's a great investment.

As for the caller's other statement regarding the 7,000 new jobs: The caller stated there aren't that many hot dog and beer vendors. If the caller would have thoroughly read my letter, it would have been perfectly clear where those new jobs will come from: the new Ballpark Village that will contain restaurants, retail outlets and a world-class aquarium as well as a baseball hall of fame. There will be new construction jobs created. And there will be more hot dog and beer vendors.

The caller referred to my last letter as "pie in the sky" economic theory. Is that what it really is, or is the caller just using a cynical approach that is uninformed? I have used very specific numbers, and the caller offers nothing but general misconceptions.

JARED BROWN

Cape Girardeau