City to taxpayers: The ballpark is free

Analysis by the city of Winston-Salem indicates that the city-owned BB&T Ballpark, which opened last year, operates at a profit. In comparison, a press release indicates, taxpayers in Durham subsidize the city-owned Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened in 1995, to the tune of $1.6 million.

The public cost of the Durham Bulls Athletic Park is comparable to the operating deficit of the publicly-owned Greensboro Coliseum, which is also $1.6 million, and which is the subject of perennial questions about whether taxpayers should foot the bill.

Greensboro has a newish ballpark too, but it is privately owned and financed.


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