Pay to play

Massachusetts may now have one last long shot at keeping the Patriots

EDITORIAL

When a deal looks too good to be true, it usually is. New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is learning that right now. Connecticut governor John Rowland's $375 million giveaway to lure the Patriots to Hartford hasn't fallen apart, but it's seriously frayed. Negotiations to move a steam plant from the stadium site are at an impasse, a citizens' group has filed suit in state court, and Ralph Nader is threatening to sue in federal court as well. If Rowland can't deliver the full package of goodies he promised the Patriots by April 2, Kraft has the right to walk away. Maybe he will, maybe he won't.

Which is why now is the time for Massachusetts's top elected officials -- Governor Paul Cellucci, Senate president Tom Birmingham, and House Speaker Tom Finneran -- to make a public show of unity and put an offer on the table that both Kraft and the state can live with. Cellucci and Birmingham, by all indications, are ready to do so. That means Finneran has to budge. He stood on principle last year when he refused to go along with a Birmingham plan that most said was reasonable and many agreed made good economic sense.

Granted, the economic benefits of professional sports franchises are hard to define. But there are certain intangible qualities that go into the making of a great city, and major-league sports teams are part of that. Just as you don't have to be a devotee of modern dance to understand that Dance Umbrella is an important part of the city's fabric, so, too, is it unnecessary to be a football fan to want the Patriots to remain in Foxborough -- part of Greater Boston, even though it's not within the city limits.

And even those, like Finneran, who rightly question the economics of professional sports should find the details of the Birmingham package pretty compelling. The legislation, approved by the Senate last year, would have provided for $52 million in improvements to roads, lighting, and other infrastructure in return for Kraft's building a $200 million stadium with his own money. In addition, the state would have bought 330 acres around the stadium for $20 million and leased them back to Kraft. Overall, the state would have paid $2.3 million per year for 25 years, which would have been more than offset by the $10 million a year the Patriots generate in gross tax revenues. Finneran refused to go along with the lease arrangement, and pushed through the House a package unacceptable to Kraft that would have saved the state's taxpayers a mere $100,000 a year when compared with the Birmingham proposal.

Finneran's disdain for overpaid professional athletes and the overbearing Kraft is understandable, but it's gotten in the way of his good sense. Nevertheless, his philosophical opposition to the $20 million lease arrangement was not without cause. And it may be over that aspect of the deal that a final agreement can be reached between Finneran, Birmingham, and Cellucci. Perhaps Kraft can be required to make a linkage payment. Perhaps he and the state can become business partners, using part of the 330 acres to build job opportunities for low-income people. What's called for is one last stab at creative thinking.

All this, of course, will be academic if the Hartford deal stays on course. But if it doesn't (and if Kraft isn't offered $500 million to sell the team to a Houston businessman -- giving him a very nice $340 million profit on his five-year-old investment), then Kraft will be looking for a new deal. He's already agreed to the Birmingham plan once. There's no reason why he shouldn't do so again -- and, if he gets burned in Connecticut, he may be more likely to make some reasonable accommodation to Finneran's concerns.

And even if a new effort to keep the Patriots proves to be too late to matter, it's worthwhile for Cellucci, Birmingham, and Finneran to practice working together to keep important local institutions from leaving the state.

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