Congress, specificly U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, is looking at government money being used on professional sports facilities. The subcommittee looking at it is being postponed to give time to figure out why land under the new Yankee Stadium was valued at $21 million in one appraisal, but a month earlier was appraised at $204 million. There does seem to be one plausible explanation, plausible to me, anyway. From New York Newsday:

A city Department of Finance spokesman said the land values were taken from separate city appraisals. The lower figure was estimated by the city’s Parks Department in May 2006, appraising the land as if it were undeveloped real estate.

The higher estimate was by the finance department, which appraised the land in April 2006, as if the new stadium were complete, the spokesman said.

The Yankees declined to comment.

The Yankees also declined to comment on why they’re willing to move from the sacred ground once patrolled by Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe Dimaggio and Mickey Mantle. The new place being Yankee Stadium, I think not. From now on I’m calling lemons bananas.

Thank you to Jake Metcalf for the tip and this link in which you can find Kucinich saying:

I think that it’s very important to understand that we’re looking at a public policy matter here that relates not only to New York and not only to the Nets and the Atlantic Yard project, but it also relates to the whole country, as your other guests have said, because it’s quite possible that there are billions of dollars in tax benefits that should be going to municipalities for the purposes of repairing their infrastructure and for schools and other things and that are instead being diverted for these private sports complexes.