The Business Journal is reporting that the Greensboro Coliseum Complex will be hosting the 2015 USA Gymnastics Championships. My guess is local media outlets will soon begin telling us of the economic impact the championships will bring to our area over the course of 5 days. Are they correct? I don't know.
Me, I decided to look at who is hosting the event.
The Greensboro Coliseum Complex supported in its entirety by taxpayer dollars.
The Greensboro Area Convention and Visitors Bureau also funded in its entirety by tax dollars.
Tournament Hosts Of Greensboro, a local non-profit to which "Contributions are not deductible" and who's mission appears to be solely to "PROMOTE ATHLETIC EVENTS". Look at their Federal Form 990 and see if you can figure out where they got the over $600,000 they spent last year.
The Greensboro Sports Commission is also a tax funded entity.
And Sports & Properties Inc of Cary, NC, the only for profit company hosting the event thus far.
So is this a good deal for Greensboro or a great deal for Sports & Properties Inc of Cary, North Carolina? Look at the last paragraph of the press release issued by Sports & Properties Inc and decide for yourself, are our non profit dollars subsidizing sports marketing companies in the name of economic development for Greensboro?
Is that what they really mean by economic development?
Update: Wednesday morning, the team here at EzGreensboro.com has since learned that Hill Carrow, owner of Sports & Properties Inc is also Chairman of the US Figure Skating Championships, former chairman of the US Olympic Trials-- Table Tennis and a former vice president of the US Olympic Committee. Hill Carrow is drawing many a fat paycheck all from non profit corporations while his own company is being subsidized with your Greensboro tax dollars plus the tax dollars of every other city Hill Carrow operates his business in.
We also learn that his company was involved in making positive economic development impact studies involving the Greensboro Aquatic Center after having warned it wouldn't work.
Can you say conflicts of interest? Mayor Vaughan? Councilman Matheny? Matt Brown?
