In American roulette, watch the green squares marked 0 and 00 on the wheel. That's the handicap, called the house edge. When the ball lands on a green square, the banker sweeps everything upon the table except bets on those squares. In the stadium game, watch the subsidy -- funds which are kept by the corporation regardless of the outcome. The corporation has the edge. Citizens of Santa Clara make the outsider bets -- revenue from ticket sales, hotel taxes, increased sales of power from our (so far) public utility. Investors get the inside bet, the subsidy. No matter what happens, the corporation wins.

This analogy takes us just up to the point where the source of funds comes into question. In Las Vegas, gamblers willingly lay down their money. In Santa Clara, funds are obtained from citizens who pay taxes. Paying taxes is involuntary, regardless of whether you are a football fan or not.

Some of us, for reasons beyond the financial consequences, do not want a stadium in any case. Consider the effect upon our neighborhoods, the traffic, the fumes, the legacy of a hulking structure that will remain after investors have taken what they can from it.

The financial facts of the deal just add insult to injury. Savvy Neighbors Impede Profiteers, and we say:

SAVE tax dollars

keep traffic OUT

NO stadium!I