The city of Los Angeles has long been used as a bargaining chip for NFL franchises that want to get better stadium deals in their hometowns. And with two stadium proposals moving forward in both Inglewood and Carson, CA, bidding wars (involving loads of public cash) have erupted in towns like St. Louis to counteract the threat of losing their home team.

San Diego appears to be the latest victim of this tactic. Faced with the threat of the Chargers moving north to Carson, the San Diego city council has released a plan for a $1.3 billion dollar stadium that will mostly be funded with public money.

Here's the scoop on the proposal from Bloomberg:

On Monday, amid threats by the Chargers to bolt for Los Angeles, a task force commissioned by San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer released a proposal for financing a new stadium in Mission Valley, the site of the team's current home, Qualcomm Stadium. The Citizens' Stadium Advisory Group plan for the $1.3 billion venue will not require a public vote (surprise) but will require tons of public funding. The plan promises no new taxes to offset the cost, relying instead on financing from the Chargers and the NFL: $300 million from the team and $200 million from the league. But the public cost detailed in the plan isn't insignificant: $121 million each from the city and county, and city-owned land valued at $180 million. The advisory group also estimates $116 million from a state program to pay for infrastructure improvements, including parking and mass transit around the site. And there's $40 million in taxes from the proposal's new, on-site hotel, of which the city won't see a dime because it will pay for more improvements. That's already $578 million taxpayer dollars sunk into this project. While the group claims that only $578 million in public dollars will be used for this project, economist Neil deMause over at Field of Schemes reports that there could be $352 million in additional subsidies hidden within the deal.

Numerous studies have shown that stadiums often fail to live up to their promises of increased economic revenue and jobs. The lack of economic benefit combined with growing budget deficits across the country have soured public support in favor of spending taxpayer dollars to build facilities for privately run sports franchises.

"Sports Stadiums Are Bad Public Investments. So Why Are Cities Still Paying for Them?" was produced by Alexis Garcia and the original release date March 17, 2015. About 5 minutes. Original writeup below.