Why do you think cities agree to give huge tax breaks to teams or go into significant debt to build sports facilities?

Facility financing is a challenge, particularly for professional teams. St. Louis just went through a painful process of offering the NFL and owner Stan Kroenke’s Rams an option for a nearly $1 billion new stadium on the banks of the Mississippi River. Of course, Kronenke and the NFL ultimately decided to move the Rams back to Los Angeles (where the franchise moved from in 1995), and Kroenke is paying $3 billion of his own money to build a new stadium. Right now, St. Louis is debating the use of public funds to build a new MLS stadium for a franchise that has yet-to-be-awarded to the city. Using www.theatlantic.com, find and read at least one article on the concept of public facility financing. Then post a brief (5-line) summary of the article (be sure to include the title, the author, and a link), followed by your reaction. Consider also: Why do you think cities agree to give huge tax breaks to teams or go into significant debt to build sports facilities? Are these good deals for taxpayers? Why or why not? Should cities like St. Louis, which struggles to fund municipal services like police, fire, and schools, offer these benefits to professional teams?