September 09, 2003
Are You Ready for Some Football? (WMATA vs. NFL)
So, first comes the NFL's refusal to pay the bill for extra transit service to support people going to see such acts as Aerosmith and Briteny Spears on the mall in Washington, D.C., last Thursday as part of the NFL kickoff celebration. Although the day ended up being one of the highest ridership days in transit history (#9), the NFL decided that they weren't responsible for the expenses, which instead got handed to the Washington, D.C. metro area taxpayers.
As they told the Washington Post:
"The transit system had proposed doing some things that we thought weren't necessary," said Greg Aiello, vice president of public relations for the NFL.
Now come on, people. This was a multi-million dollar event that you paid for to kick of a season that will certainly earn you hundreds of millions of dollars.
And at least some of Metro's board concurs:
T. Dana Kauffman, who represents Fairfax County on the Metro board, said Metro ought to aggressively pursue payment. "If it's a matter of the NFL stuffing us, then take it out of Britney's clothing allowance," he said.
But now Metro's getting tough and forcing the issue, with a letter giving the NFL until Friday the 19th of September to show up. Mind you, as a testament to how desperate Metro is for the money:
Metro spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein suggested that NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue bring a check when he attends a Sept. 17 dinner at the National Building Museum, just across the street from Metro headquarters. Farbstein said she would "be happy to pick it up." "It can’t get more convenient than that," she said.
Even if Metro is so desparate they're willing to pick up the check, the NFL needs to realize it's their responsibility to pick up the tab.
[Washington Post Article, September 5 - Washington Post Article, September 9]
Posted by aglazer at September 9, 2003 11:11 AM | TrackBack
