If it were its own country, Chester, Pennsylvania’s per capita income would rank between Turkey and Dominica. On average, its residents are poorer than those of Uruguay, Lebanon, and Antigua and Barbuda. The city has been part of a program for economically distressed communities since 1995. And in 2010, PPL Park, a $117 million soccer stadium, was opened in Chester’s southwest corner, overlooking the Delaware River. With 97 percent of funding coming from the public, that’s $3,334.90 for every man, woman, and child in Chester.
It's stories like this one that continually renew my admiration for the citizens of Los Angeles and their elected representatives. LA knows the National Football League needs it far more than it needs the National Football League, and so the city has for years refused to set aside any public money for a new football stadium. That sort of resolve is hard to come by these days, but the City of Angeles has decided to hold firm on building a stadium that will get used perhaps a dozen times a year.
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