With two days until the city is slated to approve a fresh batch of more than $500 million in tax-free bonds to finish the Yankees and Mets’ new stadiums, the city’s Independent Budget Office has released numbers calculating subsidy, adding a bit of clarity to a somewhat murky debate.
Between the new Yankee Stadium and Citi Field, IBO estimates the total cost of various city, state and M.T.A. subsidies at $762.3 million—$528 million for the Yankees and $234 million for the Mets. That's about 35 percent more than the $499 million that the IBO calculated in 2006 for the two projects (costs, particularly on infrastructure and parks for the Yankee project, increased significantly). Taken with federal subsidy on tax-exempt financing for the structures, the total cost to the public is estimated at $1.2 billion, according to the IBO. [Full figures in an IBO document here].
The Yankees and Mets pay the cost of building their stadiums, though subsidies come in the form of tax exemptions, infrastructure and rent abatements.
