I have a favor to ask from rich people in Massachusetts?

[MannyGoldstein]

First the Patriots threatened to move to Connecticut if public funds weren't plowed into a new stadium; they even signed a contract to move. We said "don't let the door hit your ass on the way out". They stayed.

Then the Red Sox wanted all sorts of public help to build a new stadium. We laughed. They stayed.

And now the Olympics? LOL! Did you people somehow think we got stupider about this scam in the past decade?

Can you rich people stop trying to steal our money using sports venues? It doesn't work, it makes you look foolish, and it wastes valuable newspaper and Internet bandwidth. Maybe buy another team in another state, this nonsense seems to work everywhere else. But not here.

[AllFieldsRequired]

1. Rich people demand entertainment.

Stealing your tax dollars to obtain entertainment is just one way they entertain themselves.

[merrily]

2. Luceeeee, if the Sox and Pats leave Massachusetts, you'll have a lot of splaining to do.

[MannyGoldstein]

3. !!!

[pinto]

4. I think the no-Olympics decision was a great move, whatever the mechanics. (nt)

[MannyGoldstein]

6. The IOC demanded that Boston agree to shoulder cost overruns

and Mayor Marty Walsh knew that Bostonians understood what that meant, and that his reelection chances would be non-optimal if he did, so he refused.

[GoneFishin]

7. Yeah, what could happen? The Big Dig was almost on budget, x40 or so?

[pinto]

9. Remeber the off ramp to nowhere? It was on 93 as it entered the city for years, iirc. ??

I did the daily commute and just shook my head as I passed the barricades.

[GoneFishin]

11. LOL. I wasn't in the right place to see it. But it sounds like it was worth every penny.

"The off ramp to nowhere."

I'll remember it now. That's pretty funny.

[Agschmid]

16. I can confirm portions of it are still there.

[MannyGoldstein]

15. And it's crazy ugly

that's the worst part.

[pinto]

8. Ah. Cost overruns.They are a prime time event in most Olympics...

[GoneFishin]

5. I guess the pressure for no taxpayer money to be used for the olympics harshed their buzz.

[Indydem]

10. Where are you getting your information?

The Patriots got $72 million in public money to build Gillette.

The Sox wanted to leave Fenway????? When and where was this??

[MannyGoldstein]

12. From memory, but Wikipedia corroborates on the Pats:

"During a news conference in September 1998, the team revealed plans to build a new stadium in Foxboro, keeping the team in Massachusetts. It was to be funded by the state as well as Kraft himself. This plan brought more competition from Connecticut, as a $1 billion plan to renovate an area of Hartford, including building a stadium.[24] Kraft then signed an agreement to move the team to Hartford on November 18, 1998. The proposed stadium included 68,000 seats, 60 luxury boxes, and had a projected cost of $375 million.[25] As before in Boston and Providence, construction of the stadium was challenged by the residents. Problems with the site were discovered, and an agreement could not be reached regarding the details of the stadium. The entire plan eventually fell through, enraging then Connecticut governor John G. Rowland, who lobbied hard for the stadium and spent weeks deliberating with Robert Kraft.[26] Rowland announced at a press conference that he was officially "a New York Jets fan, now and probably forever".[27] In 1999, the team officially announced that it would remain in Foxboro, which led to Gillette Stadium's construction.[28] After the Hartford proposal fell through, Robert Kraft paid for 100% of the construction costs, a rare instance of an NFL owner privately financing the construction of a stadium."

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gillette_Stadium

The Fenway info is a little more oblique:

On May 15, 1999, then Red Sox CEO John Harrington announced plans for a new Fenway Park to be built near the existing structure.[33] It was to have seated 44,130 and would have been a modernized replica of the current Fenway Park, with the same field dimensions except for a shorter right field and reduced foul territory. Some sections of the existing ballpark were to be preserved (mainly the original Green Monster and the third base side of the park) as part of the overall new layout. Most of the current stadium was to be demolished to make room for new development, with one section remaining to house a baseball museum and public park.[34] The proposal was highly controversial, and several groups (such as "Save Fenway Park&quot formed in an attempt to block the move.[35] Discussion took place for several years regarding the new stadium proposal. One plan involved building a "Sports Megaplex" in South Boston, where a new Fenway would be located next to a new stadium for the New England Patriots. The Patriots ultimately built Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, their home throughout most of their history, which ended the Megaplex proposal. The Red Sox and the city of Boston failed to reach an agreement on building the new stadium, and in 2005, the Red Sox ownership group announced that the team would stay at Fenway Park indefinitely.[36] The stadium has since been renovated, and will remain usable until as late as 2061.[37]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fenway_Park

[MannyGoldstein]

13. I just did a bit more research...

The $72 million was paid for road improvements and othet infrastructure, and the Pats had to pay it back - effectively a loan

[Indydem]

14. That's basically what I found.

But I only found something about easement fees, not a payback.