OMG. It is very frustrating to read the lack of business knowledge here! Businesses have expenses. They write those expenses off during the year. They have expenses for gas in their cars if they use them for business, food that they buy for potential business connections, heat, hydro, employment taxes etc.... So in this case, if they drop a lot of money in a box (MUCH more than the nose bleeds) then they can claim 50% of it as an expense. IF they did not put that money into the box, then they would maybe claim it by taking their clients out to dinner instead. Meanwhile the Senators would lose static revenue. NOW.... a hockey team is a business. IF a business can move anywhere in North America and make more money because governments want to help them and not hurt them, then they will. It would be a business decision. If were your money, you would do it. So we should make it easy for them. The amount of taxes that they bring in from concessions, salaries, charities etc.... is MUCH MUCH higher than $15M. Mcguinty says "difficult economic challenge" >> dude you have been running the province and NOW you realize that you missed the budget by $30 Billion (2000 x $15M). Even the biggest moron could have noticed a $30,000,000,000 mistake. So will you vote for him again? That is the question!

This team went bankrupt once. Left many small businesses with unpaid bills, my employer was out 60,000$ and a contract. I do NOT want my tax dollars subsidizing people so they can ignore the game and network on level 1 while real fans save to be in the nose bleeds. Go away if you cannot make it in this market, again!

Why shouldn't the working poor subsidize these modern day gladiators. It takes their minds off the other issues affecting them.

They don't need to help the Senators by helping rich guys enjoy expensive box seats.
They could by regular tickets and give them to local school kids in a lottery - that would be
a better use of tax money. Also the rich Leafs don't need this tax break.

Let the hockey team go to Hull.

Pull the plug !!

I'm sorry, but why is Ontario blowing 15 million dollars a year on a sports franchise worth some 201 million dollars ? Onwing a hockey team is a rich mans game, so why subsidize their profits ?

Let that fraudster, Eugene Melnyk, cover the losses. He has the money.

If it can't stand up on it's own, and it's not a essential service, then cut them loose and let them stand on their own two feet. If they can't - then sell the team to a city willing to pay millions to have millionairs to play sports for their billionair owners.

Are they trying to say that between the players (65M a year), the owner of the team, and Scotiabank Place, that they can't find 15M in savings a year ? BS

Provincial money should be spent on healthcare, education and infrastructure... Not a freakin' hockey team.

If Ontario taxpayers are propping up the Sens it begs the question: "Are those same taxpayers seeing some profit, some dividends?" That's just plain business sense. If not, shame on us and pull the plug. The taxpayer should not be underwriting millionaires. Let the players invest in the club or move it to Waterloo where it might actually make plenty of money without the taxpayer's help.

$15 Million is a lot of money when one is considering making cuts to the health care system.

Maybe the players could accept a wage cut like the Electromotive workers were supposed to?