Sazka Arena redux

Taxpayers haven't yet recovered from Sazka Arena, and politicians are already talking about building another mega sports facility. "Oh," but you say, "Sazka Arena wasn't funded by taxpayers." Directly, no, but what about the unheard-of VAT privileges Sazka enjoys? Or its unfettered lottery monopoly? Or the tricks it pulls with its nonprofit affiliates? Not to mention what taxpayers might be asked to do if the Arena went bust. The main force behind the planned new national soccer stadium at Sparta field is Soccer Union Vice Chair Vlastimil Košťál, and he's been watching Sazka for some time. He's no doubt learned a few tricks from Sazka CEO Aleš Hušák. Before the government follows through with Premier Jiří Paroubek's vow to provide Kč 1bn for the new stadium, it should calculate how much Sazka Arena has cost taxpayers and what benefits they've received from it. [Czech Republic football ČMFS]