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Tampa Bay Bucs among teams that seek money from the state for stadium

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Aside from buying the odd ticket here and there, should the politicians of Florida be spending money on the professional sports teams of the state?

It’s a decent question at a time the Tampa Bay Bucs, Miami Dolphins and Jacksonville Jaguars are among the teams with their hands out.

The Bucs filed their application for money – as much as $1 million a year – on Monday. The Bucs, at an impasse with their negotiations with the Tampa Sports Authority to make improvements to Raymond James Stadium, are instead looking at the state for money.

The Daytona Speedway is also asking for money.

It’s a tricky question at a costly time for the state. Should it be involved with giving money to existing teams that make a profit? Or could Florida’s other needs, such as road, education and infrastructure, make better use of the funding?

The applications will be ranked and evaluated by the Department of Economic Opportunity. Earlier this year, there were four such proposals, and the state said no to each. That could happen again. It is getting more and more difficult to defend giving teams large amounts of money.

Gary Shelton is one of the most recognized and honored sportswriters in the history of the state. He has won the APSE's national columnist of the year twice and finished in the top 10 eight times. He was named the Florida Sportswriter of the Year six times. Gary joined SaintPetersBlog in the spring, helping to bring a sports presence to the website. Over his time in sports writing, Gary has covered 29 Super Bowls, 10 Olympics, Final Fours, Masters, Wimbledons and college national championships. He was there when the Bucs won a Super Bowl, when the Lightning won a Stanley Cup and when the Rays went to a World Series. He has seen Florida, FSU and Miami all win national championships, and he covered Bear Bryant, Bobby Bowden and Don Shula along the way. He and his wife Janet have four children: Eric, Kevin, K.C. and Tori. To contact, visit [email protected]

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