The news media have been filled with facts and figures about our major league sports facilities. There is one crucial omission.
There is not a word about property taxes on the publicly funded sports facilities. The majority of the money – about 60% – would go to the needy Cleveland schools.
But not a penny of property taxes on the structures has been paid since 1992 – more than 33 years ago. Why? Because then-Cleveland Mayor Michael White and then-Cuyahoga County Commissioner Tim Hagan successfully petitioned the Republican-dominated Ohio legislature to exempt all property taxes on sports structures – forever. How nice…