The Indianapolis Star reports this morning that Fred Glass has been named the new athletic director at Indiana University.
I don't get it. That's like a CEO failing at one company, then being hired enthusiastically by another. Of course, that's what happens in the corporate world all the time, so we shouldn't be surprised.
Fred Glass as President of the Capital Improvement Board was chiefly responsible for one of the most lopsided sports lease agreements in history when he negotiated the current deal for Lucas Oil Stadium with the Colts. The City of Indianapolis gave away half the profits from non-sporting events and revenue from advertising in the facility. We had caved into the Colts demands for a new stadium, and then had to pay the Colts tens of millions of dollars to break the lease on the old stadium. As a result of the deal, the CIB is left with a $20 million dollar operating deficit on the stadium. (Apparently no one thought to consider that it would cost money to operate it.) When Glass was asked about the operating deficit recently, he suggested that the operating costs should have been financed, an extremely irresponsible proposal akin to a homeowner paying his utilities with a credit card.
For those lawyers who read my blog, I would encourage you to read the lease linked above. It is disturbing how one-sided it is. I'm not sure there are many lawyers out there who would let their clients sign such a document. But the Capital Improvement Board did and we taxpayers will be paying for that decision for many years to come.
Addendum: Be sure to also view Advance Indiana's take on the Fred Glass appointment.
4 comments:
Like I said over at AI, it's payback time, and here's Fred's reward.
Boo! to IU. Boo!
Yeah, sucks that Indianapolis has a Super Bowl and all of that extra revenue associated with the revenue. Through Fred's efforts the city of Indianapolis is being more widely recognized.
I see. In your world, it's OK to sellout the many to benefit the few? Easy to see were you sit. But, I have to crane my neck to glimpse a peek up there.
Extra revenue that I, for one, won't be reaping any benefits from. And, some even question whether such benefits really even exist. That discussion could take up paragraphs and paragraphs, back and forth.
Yes, recognition. But, it is our conclusion about what kind of recognition that differs.
I see the word "SUCKER" printed on the forehead of most central Indiana taxpayers. You, seem to be chuckling it up on somebody else's dime in a stadium suite somewhere. Lucky you.
I hear what Anon is saying. Here's the problem with it. If there is such great revenue to be had by the new stadium and the Super Bowl, why is it government rather than the private sector driving the money train?
The fact is the revenue generated by 10 downtown football games per year is not that much and when Indianapolis area people spend money on the Colts, is money not spent elsewhere in our community. It's pretty much a zero sum game.
I think the revenue generation argument is pretty weak. Now, I would say Anon has a point when it comes to some intangible value of the promotion of the city by having an NFL team and the Super Bowl. The value of that is hard to measure.
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