Senator Rick Scott, continuing his quest to block the former Kanye West from performing in Tampa, showed up to the Florida Holocaust Museum on Monday with a lot of questions.
“Why on Earth would we use tax dollars to fund someone who has called himself a Nazi and praised Adolf Hitler?” he asked at a news conference. “There’s countries all over the world that have banned him, and we’re going to allow him to come to our state and our city?”
Scott’s concerns were echoed in speeches from fellow Florida politicians, Jewish leaders, and even some local Holocaust survivors, drawing national attention.
They wanted to know why the Tampa Sports Authority, the public agency that manages Raymond James Stadium, had inked the contract for not one, but two concerts. They questioned whose funding the shows. They demanded answers.
But despite mounting pressure, the Sports Authority says it has no intention of canceling Ye’s concerts on June 26 and 28.
Antisemitism condemned, free speech affirmed
“We condemn antisemitism from any source. However, we also respect free speech rights guaranteed under the US Constitution, even when we disagree with that speech,” the Authority wrote in a statement on Monday. “In addition, no taxpayer money is being used for staging the Ye concerts.”
So, are Hillsborough taxpayers footing the bill? Could political pressure force a cancellation? To find out, the Tampa Bay Times obtained a copy of the contract for the concerts. Here’s what it shows.
Scott’s campaign to stop the concerts kicked off on June 4 with a public letter addressed to the Tampa Sports Authority. It wasn’t just a problem that Florida, a state with a large Jewish population, would host an artist who has sold swastika merchandise, he wrote. While Ye apologized earlier this year for his antisemitic remarks and actions, Scott also took issue with the idea of taxpayer funding going toward the shows.
“The Raymond James Stadium is a publicly owned venue made to be safe and serve the interests of Hillsborough County and Tampa residents,” he wrote. “No taxpayer dollars should be used to give a vocal antisemite a stage in Florida, and I am sure that you will take appropriate action to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
Sports Authority spokesperson Bobby Silvest said in an email that all costs will be covered by the event’s promoter, Ikon Global, LLC, not the Sports Authority.
“To suggest otherwise is false,” read a statement from the agency on Monday.
The contract for the two shows outlines the promoter’s contribution: A one-dollar license fee and a $1.5 million fee to cover the Authority’s expenses – including security, law enforcement, cleaning, and other services.
For every ticket sold, the promoter will also collect and pay the Authority a five-dollar facility fee and a ticket surcharge of no more than $2.50. Ikon Global will also reimburse the Authority for other “ancillary expenses.” After those fees and any others are paid, the promoter will keep the remaining net ticket revenue.
Silvest said in an email that the Authority “retains or controls all ticket sales, parking, merchandise, food and beverage revenue” until all payments are settled after the events. “In simple terms,” he said, ”TSA is always in control of the money.”
The Authority expects a profit of around $1 million per show, Silvest said.
It is not yet clear how much money Ye is expected to make. A ticket manifest obtained by the Times shows that, with a capacity of more than 72,200 seats at an average price of more than $200 per seat, the potential revenue could climb to more than $14.8 million per show.
Anthony Palermo, an assistant professor of law at Stetson University College of Law, said in an interview that “the contract is structured and designed to make the event revenue-positive for the TSA.”
He added that “any public facility requires funds for its general upkeep,” and the contract “doesn’t prove that public resources won’t be used or advanced before the event.” But, he said, there are plenty of avenues to recoup any money spent.
First Amendment protections, legal challenges, hate speech
Palermo said the contract also raises questions about First Amendment protections – and potential legal challenges the Authority could face if it cancels the shows.
A clause states that the Authority cannot cancel or interfere with the events “based upon artist identity, prior or past public statements, public perception, political viewpoints, or the anticipated or actual content of the performance,” as long as Ye’s concert doesn’t run afoul of any laws or venue rules.
Silvest said the provision isn’t normally included and was requested by Ikon Global, the promoter.
The Sports Authority’s general counsel, Jeffrey W. Gibson, took up the First Amendment question in a memo to CEO Eric Hart this week. The stadium, he wrote, “should not discriminate against speech based on viewpoint.” He cited a 2017 case in which the US Supreme Court protected “the freedom to express hated thoughts.”
Raymond James Stadium has a history of hosting free expression, and the county and Authority can’t now favor a certain perspective over another, Gibson wrote. The choice to restrict speech because of a disagreement with a speaker’s viewpoint would, he wrote, violate the First Amendment.
Palermo agreed, adding that canceling the shows could lead to both First Amendment and breach of contract challenges.
But several elected leaders have called for greater scrutiny because of the stadium’s status as a public facility.
Sen. Ashley Moody said the Sports Authority “hid behind free speech and contractual obligations.” Hillsborough County Commissioner Chris Boles said he believes in free speech and Constitutional principles, but added, “Free speech does not entitle anyone to a public stage backed by public resources.”
Scott, who began the campaign, said, “If you have a public venue, you don’t get to go say, ‘Oh, I’ve got to let all (of) everybody there.’ You do not.”
