[ale] WTF:OT: $19M to attract fishermen?

[Jim Popovitch]

On Fri, 2007-01-19 at 10:55 -0500, Nick Travis wrote:
> A few large B.A.S.S tourneyments would easily bring that amount of
> money back into the Georgia economy.  If we were lucky enough to get
> the BassMasters classic in GA that one event would probably bring in
> that kind of revenue.  I worked at the BassMaster classic in New
> Orleans several years ago, the Superdome and convention center were
> rented for a week, and thousands of people from all over the country
> we in town for the week as well. 

In events, such as you describe, it is not uncommon for the local
tax-payers (you and I) to foot a very large bill to "attract" the
promoters tour.  IIRC, Atlanta lost Comdex to Chicago because the
Atlanta City Council agreed to pay Comdex $5m cash just to come here,
but Comdex wanted more.  The net-net is that these shows cost money up
front, and a return on investment isn't guaranteed.  Yes, the city
stands to possibly make income from hotel/bar/restaurant charges.
HOWEVER, a well timed hurricane/cold-snap/terrorist-threat, can rot
those opportunities faster than boats can be pulled out of water.

$19m is a drop in the bucket at the state level, however (as an
Atlantan, whose drivers license actually says "Atlanta"), I'm opposed to
spending State or City money on things that benefit certain slices of
the populace, and clearly not the whole.  Now, if they were spending
$19m to improve parks and recreation facilities state wide, and to
attract more park visitors, then I would be all for that.  But I'm
opposed to trying to attract a narrow group of people (yes, I know, most
fisherman don't necessarily qualify as "narrow").  I see this the same
way as I would if the state (again, you and I) were spending $18m to
attract members of the Crochet Guild of America, or just crocheters in
general.  "Come twist your yarn in Georgia..."

-Jim P.



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