Media already running cover for Columbia's dubious baseball stadium?

A new team and $3 million stadium in the growing county of
Lexington is a big deal for residents. Columbia will be hard-pressed
to compete with USC and   justify spending $35 million for a new
stadium. But it's tax money, so who cares? (Lex. Recreation Dept. photo.)

Admit it, you have to be scratching your head on this one. Any reasonable person would. 

A government-devised stadium in Columbia will cost $35 million, while Lexington's new facility, for the Lexington Blowfish, will cost $3 million. Big government folly versus sound business.

Columbia's Free Times, a government-friendly newspaper, attempts to explain the costs: "The difference? Their scale," says Free Times. 

And Free Times is correct. For government, especially in Columbia, cost is not an issue. No matter that the Bull Street stadium in Columbia will cost more than 10 times the stadium planned for Ballpark Road in Lexington. It's OK. And Lexington has an established tenant, Columbia does not.

Free Times seemed defensive of Columbia and its mayor Steve Benjamin, who has his fingerprints all over the large stadium expenditure. If it is a major flop, it will be his. But does he really care? He's  likely untouchable because of his "anything goes" voting base.  

Free Times explains more: The Columbia stadium is comparable to other stadiums with “a host of luxury suites, a rooftop party area, a vast array of concessions at various locations within the park and has a 58-foot wide video board.” Kind of sounds like Carolina Stadium that is already in Columbia. It also has a proven tenant.

And, the new minor league stadium in Columbia will hold more than 8,000 for ballgames or other events. While the new stadium in Lexington will have seating for about 3,000. So a little more than double the occupancy and it costs 10 times more?

The cost of Lexington's stadium is being fronted by bonds, but even with minimal success, payback will not be difficult to secure.  

When asked about the cost discrepancy between Columbia’s prospective new stadium and the one that will be built in Lexington, Blowfish owner Bill Shanahan says he is “laser focused on Lexington.”

He likely did not want to say what was on his mind, or laugh out loud.

Try as they may to explain one out-of-this-world cost compared to the sound financing in Lexington, it's just difficult to justify.

Remember Richland County barely passed a penny sales tax in 2012. Some in Lexington are clamoring for the same tax. 

Just don't do what Columbia does, and Lexington should be moving in the right direction.