NASHVILLE, TN — With the news that Nashville Mayor Megan Barry has come to apreliminary deal to use tax dollars to build a new Major League Soccer stadium, the Beacon Center is formally calling for a public referendum to allow local taxpayers to vote on whether their tax dollars should fund any part of the new stadium. The referendum question should be concrete and legally binding, and the Beacon Center would like to be a part of crafting the question.
Mark Cunningham, a spokesman for the Beacon Center, said, “The Beacon Center is against the city of Nashville forcing taxpayers to fund a private soccer stadium. However, we think that the residents of the city should be the ones to make the decision on whether their money should be spent on any professional sports stadium. That is why the Beacon Center is calling for a referendum, trigged by the City Council, to allow voters to decide this very important issue if the city of Nashville is selected by the MLS.”
Mark Cunningham went on to note, “Research shows that using taxpayer money to fund a professional sports stadium is a terrible investment for taxpayers and is a prime example of government overreach. Nashville taxpayers should not be forced by politicians to fund millionaire franchise owners and developers. Time after time, stadiums, and specifically MLS stadiums, have proven to be big losers for taxpayers. We are tired of hearing politicians spout the same evidence-free lines on taxpayer-funded stadiums, that this is what the people of Nashville want. If Nashville politicians really believe that funding this stadium with tax dollars is what their constituents want, I’d like to see them put their money where their mouth is and put it up as a referendum.”
