Pay as you went

I may not know the intricacies of high finance or the subtleties of government economic models or the ins and outs of bonds and taxation, but I surely know when I'm getting screwed:

The Colts' new home isn't the only football stadium area residents will be paying for in years to come.

Indianapolis still owes roughly $75 million in principal on bonds related to the construction of the 22-year-old RCA Dome.

That means that long after the Colts move into their new digs at Lucas Oil Stadium in 2008 and the Dome is demolished, millions of dollars a year in taxpayer dollars will continue to be used to reduce the debt on the old stadium.

How long? Thirteen years.

"The average person has the right to feel like this is a jive deal, that they're continuing to pay for improvements for a stadium that is no longer going to exist," said Fred Glass, head of the city's Capital Improvement Board, which runs the Dome and is on the hook for the debt.

"The fiscal realities, though, are that if we were going to move forward with a project with which we need to move forward, this is the only way it can be done," Glass said.

Jive? When taxpayers will still be paying $75 million for something that won't even be there? I guess so. I'd say the "average person" won't care a hoot about the "fiscal realities" involved here. Unless they are Colts season-ticket holders, of course.