In 2002 authors Joanna Cagan and Neil De Mause wrote a modest paperback book titled Field of Schemes:  How the Great Stadium Swindle Turns Public Money into Private Profit.  The same authors revised and republished the book in 2008 with the title Field of Schemes:  How the Great Stadium Swindle Turns Public Money into Private Profit, Revised and Expanded Edition.

A related book titled They Play, You Pay:  Why Taxpayers Build Ballparks, Stadiums, and Arenas for Billionaire Owners and Millionaire Players was written and published in 2012 by author James T. Bennett.

Both books discuss the premise that, “… despite evidence that publicly funded ballparks, stadiums, and arenas do not generate net economic growth, governments keep on taxing sales, restaurant patrons, renters of automobiles, and hotel visitors in order to build ever more elaborate cathedrals of professional sport.”

Okay, but what does that have to do with Coeur d’Alene, Idaho?  Small towns don’t get caught of in these fields of schemes, do they?  Well, apparently they can.

Here is an online newspaper story by Bloomberg News in suburban Chicago’s Daily Herald.  The article is headlined FBI probe shows risks of local stadium boom.  The article offers a good analysis of how usually well-intended, small-town politicians and wanna-be financial moguls who cheer lead for these projects get hooked with the apparently false promise of big money returns.

The most on-point quote in the Bloomberg story came from Andrew Zimbalist, an economics professor at Smith College in Northampton, Mass., who studies stadium financing.  Zimbalist was quoted as saying:

“If taxpayers are supporting a stadium because they believe it’ll help their city socially and culturally, then fine. If they’re doing it because they’ve been sold a bill of goods that it’ll be a boost to the economy, then no, it’s not a good expenditure of funds.”

OpenCdA vividly recalls the proposed “Field of Dreams” planned for Cherry Hill Park here in Coeur d’Alene.  Fortunately, that failed to get much past the “of Dreams” stage.

We also hope that the cheerleaders for the North Idaho College Event Center being considered at Riverstone pay close attention to the Bloomberg News story and learn from it.