I couldn’t have planned this morning’s football and taxes story any better… Hours after I posted my piece about Pennsylvania, football and taxes on taxgirl.com, a Common Pleas Court judge ruled that the Philadelphia Eagles owe the city $8 million in skybox revenue from the former Veterans Stadium.
$8 million can buy a lot of school textbooks, Mr. Lurie.
In case you haven’t been following this story, let me fill you in. And let me start by saying that I love the City of Philadelphia and I love the Eagles. So, it really bothered me to see what a world class jerk Jeff Lurie turned out to be. (We Philadelphians kind of wear our hearts on our sleeves, in case you haven’t heard).
Jeff Lurie is the billionaire owner of the Philadelphia Eagles. Lurie sued the City of Philadelphia last year, claiming that there was a “private deal” between him and former mayor John Street that reduced the amounts that the Eagles owed the City in Veterans Stadium skybox revenues from $8 million to less than $1 million.
The City has contended for some time that the amount owed was $8 million as part of the deal that the City made with the Eagles. And when Lurie and the Eagles refused to pay up, the City sued in 2004 for the full amount.
But Mr. Lurie suddenly had a different recollection. Earlier this year, he and team president Joe Banner claimed that they struck the verbal deal with Street through intermediaries during Street’s first term although they seem to be a little fuzzy on the actual date. They think it happened in late 2000.
They, of course, didn’t get it in writing. Cause why would you? What’s a few million dollars anyway?
And, of course, the alleged intermediary for the deal is now deceased.
*throat clearing*
And, of course, during his two terms, then Mayor Street never once mentioned such a deal.
*more throat clearing*
And, of course, then Mayor Street denies that it ever happened.
C’mon. Lurie is a savvy businessman. A billionaire. Who really thinks he would make a handshake deal with the City of Philadelphia, never memorialize it and “forget” to mention it for years?
Um, yeah, no one.
And to make it worse, it means that I, like many other Philadelphians, believe former Mayor Street.
Let that sink in for a minute. Mayor Street was not a terribly popular mayor and not necessary known for his – let’s call it – candor. He was even investigated by the FBI for allegations of pay to play politics (no charges were filed).
So what does it say about Mr. Lurie’s character that so many people – including a Common Pleas Judge – are willing to believe the word of Mayor Street over that of Mr. Lurie?
Mayor Nutter claims that it never heard about the alleged deal until last year. In response to the suit, Mayor Nutter said:
I have made it very clear to the Philadelphia Eagles organization that the city expects to be paid what we are owed.
The whole sordid tale gets worse.
Lurie and the Eagles then sued the cash-strapped City of Philadelphia (remember, this is a team valued by Forbes magazine at more than $1 billion) for losses they claim they sustained when a 2001 pre-season game was canceled due to field conditions at the old stadium (Veteran’s Stadium). And what a coincidence! Lurie claims that the losses totaled $8 million.
Imagine the luck.
A judge will rule on how much the City actually owes the Eagles for the missed game later this summer. For now, however, it appears that the Eagles are ahead. Jeff Lurie and his Eagles have to pay up.
Now, if we could just get a decent season out of them…
