that's often what happens with new stadiums. extort the city into paying for it, then fall into mediocrity (see: Pittsburgh, Cincy, Seattle, San Francisco, Houston....) Wasn't SF's park privately financed? I don't pay much attention to this stuff, but I believe the Cardinals are paying for Busch III as well. Lord knows the Cardinals have a big enough payroll to be competitive. Bad luck and some good old-fashioned idiocy is more the case than a bait-and-switch.