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League of Fans Founded by Ralph Nader, League of Fans is a sports reform project working to improve sports by increasing awareness of the sports industry's relationship to society, exposing irresponsible business practices, ensuring accountability to fans, and encouraging the industry to contribute to societal well-being.Alerts is League of Fans' email announcements list. Alerts provides news, information, the actions of League of Fans and/or Ralph Nader regarding sports issues, and calls-to-action for subscribers. All email updates are either selected or written by League of Fans. League of Fans is motivated by people, just like you, who are upset with what has become of our sports and would like to make a difference. We work with concerned citizens, sports fans, civic groups and communities to increase awareness of the sports industry's relationship to society, influence a broad range of issues in sports at all levels and encourage the cooperative capacities that make the "sports powers-that-be" capable of helping, not just dominating, our society and culture. We often think of sports as outside the realm of everyday citizen concern. But the many benefits to society that sports can provide are sometimes undermined by a different set of values, often based on the quest for higher and higher profits at the expense of fans, taxpayers, communities, culture and social justice. Get Involved! Your involvement will improve sports for communities and fans, and encourage the sports industry to better contribute to societal well-being. |
Ralph Nader and League of Fans Urge the Green Bay Packers and the NFL to Contribute Financially to Save Lambeau Field from Naming Rights Deal November 3, 2003The naming rights to pro football's most cherished shrine are up for sale. The City of Green Bay is being pressured by a referendum to sell the naming rights to Lambeau Field to shorten the length of the sales tax that paid for the stadium's renovation. Today, Ralph Nader and the sports watchdog League of Fans sent a letter to Green Bay Packers President Bob Harlan and NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue requesting that their organizations contribute financially toward preserving the "Lambeau Field" name and reducing taxpayers' stadium renovation debt. The letter follows.
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Robert E. Harlan
Paul J. Tagliabue
Dear Gentlemen:
Your respective nonprofit corporations have a public service opportunity in which we feel you should both enthusiastically participate.
An innovative citizens' grass-roots campaign is underway, called "Save Lambeau," to raise money to help taxpayers of Green Bay and Brown County shorten the length of the sales tax that is paying for the Lambeau Field renovation and thereby reducing the pressure to sell the stadium's naming rights. The project urges corporations to get involved, and asserts that "By contributing via the ‘Save Lambeau' campaign, your name will not be in lights on the stadium. However, your company will forever be known to sports fans around the globe as the company who helped save ‘Lambeau Field.'"
For fans of the Packers and pro football, and for fans of community, identity, pride and history, saving the "Lambeau Field" name is important and a worthwhile cause for action. There are two corporations (whose names are already on the stadium) that come immediately to mind as those that should willingly contribute millions of dollars to the cause of preserving the name while helping to pay down taxpayers' stadium renovation debt: The Green Bay Packers, Inc. and the National Football League Inc.
We're certain that you both agree that Lambeau Field should always be Lambeau Field. But beyond your preferences, nothing is being done by the Packers or the NFL to help relieve the large debt burden placed on Green Bay and Brown County taxpayers for generously funding the Lambeau renovation and thereby pressuring the City of Green Bay to convert into a corporate advertising vehicle by actively soliciting companies to plaster their name on the city-owned stadium.
In the renovation plan's so-called "public/private partnership," taxpayers were required to pay $169.1 million, with most of the rest coming straight from fans who were subjected to a $1,400-per-seat PSL. As with other NFL franchises who have done this, the Packers were able to get away with claiming the $92.5 million total from the sale of PSL's as part of their "private" contribution toward renovation.
The Packers have also drained some of the tradition and purity from Lambeau already as fans now enter through turnstiles at "Verizon Wireless Gate," "Miller Brewing Company Gate" and "Associated Bank Gate," with all revenue from those sales going, not to taxpayers, but straight to the Packers.
But the Packers aren't alone in failing to exert leadership to preserve the Lambeau name. The NFL could have and should have shouldered much more of the Lambeau renovation cost. The NFL's G-3 loan program has generally provided $50-$100 million toward stadium construction and renovation (paid back through the visiting team's cut of club-seat money) in other cities where public subsidies have been extracted. But the league managed to cough-up only $13 million for Lambeau financing. That is offensive to the taxpayers and fans on whose backs the NFL and the Packers are allowed to flourish.
The Chicago Bears (or to use their new ridiculous title, "Bears football presented by Bank One"), received a $100 million loan from the NFL for the Soldier Field renovation. Realizing there are differences in the amount put forth by the NFL due to market size and amount of the private contribution toward the project, why only $13 million for Lambeau?
Gentlemen, you should not forget what taxpayers and fans have done for the Packers and the NFL financially by paying for the new and renovated pro football stadiums across the country which allow your organizations to meet their exclusive business needs and excesses. Although neither the Packers nor the NFL are legally obligated to make concessions to preserve the Lambeau Field name and in turn help to reduce the tax burden on citizens, giving back under these circumstances is the right thing to do.
The Packers should contribute because of the extraordinary relationship between the team, the community and Lambeau Field that is so special and makes them beloved throughout the sports world. And the NFL should contribute because it is Lambeau Field, pro football's most cherished shrine, that maintains a link with the league's history and a connection with every fan of pro football past, present and future.
If naming rights for Lambeau Field are sold, the deal would drain the civic spirit of the Green Bay region, destroy a significant part of what makes the Packers special and betray the history and devoted fans of the NFL, hence completing the reduction of the league to the constant pursuit of commercialized profit.
From the days of Vince Lombardi to today, Packers fans have watched historic games at Lambeau and collected memories that will stay with them forever. They've witnessed the months of December and January like few other fans have. For almost a half century they've strolled through the gates of the "Frozen Tundra." Lambeau itself exists as a major actor in the NFL's mythology. And now the possibility exists that fans could be forced to watch the Packers play at "Coca-Cola Lambeau Field," or some similar degradation.
We ask that your respective organizations help by either setting up a fund together to preserve the "Lambeau Field" name while assisting Brown County taxpayers as they struggle to pay down stadium renovation debt, or by heavily contributing to the "Save Lambeau" campaign that is already underway. We have provided the project's contact information below.
We look forward to your considered response.
Sincerely,
Ralph Nader
Shawn McCarthy
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Save Lambeau
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Interested readers may wish to get involved by writing to the Green Bay Packers or the National Football League, and/or by expressing their interest to the 'Save Lambeau' organization (listed above):
Robert E. Harlan
Paul J. Tagliabue
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Nader, group urge Packers to contribute to retain Lambeau name Nader to Packers, NFL: Pay up Nader joins Save Lambeau campaign |