By Tom McClimon
December 12, 2005

“The Business & Politics of Sports” is the name of a book containing over 100 of Evan Weiner’s columns that describe the power plays, players, media and political (federal, state and local) connections, which rule the $19 billion business of sports.

Evan Weiner is a contributing columnist for New York Newsday, The Washington Examiner, and msnbc.com and is a re-occurring guest on “Politics Live” with Sam Donaldson on abcnewsnow.com His radio commentary, “The Business of Sports,” has aired nationally on a daily basis since June 1999.

In his book, Evan covers such issues as the financial health of the major sports leagues, labor relations between owners and players, and the impact that cable television has had on major league sports. Of particular interest to mayors and other local government officials will be section on stadiums. Here, Evan discusses such issues as “Footing the Bill for Sports Stadiums”, “Confronting Difficult Arena Questions”, and “How Sports Owners Profit from Tax Deals.”

Any local public official who wants to ensure that his or her community isn’t on the losing end of a sports deal will want to read this book. Evan provides some very useful insights into the business of sports and what local officials need to know in order to protect their communities’ “back pockets.” A book that needs to be on every local government official’s bookshelf.

“The Business & Politics of Sports” by Evan Weiner is published by TBE Press, New Canaan, Connecticut, 2005.