College and pro sports are nice to watch, but have had the luxury of being subsidized by the taxpayer.

This will end under the new GOP tax plan. Here’s more information:

College athletic department revenues and cities’ abilities to finance stadiums for professional sports teams could take a hit from the removal of tax breaks in the bill.

In order to purchase season tickets at many schools, fans must first make a donation to the athletic department’s booster group, making those donations a large source of income for athletic departments. The money is passed back to the departments from the booster club. Currently, those donations are tax deductible up to 80 percent.

Donations to college athletic departments and related booster clubs totaled $1.2 billion in 2015, eclipsing the $1 billion mark for the fourth time in five years

Another part of the bill hits professional sports. It would end the practice of using tax-free bonds to help finance “professional sports” stadiums. The provision would make interest on bonds issued to finance those stadiums subject to federal tax.

The practice of publicly financing stadiums has long been derided by many, who consider it welfare for billionaire sports owners. The use of tax-free bonds has cost the federal government $3.7 billion since 2000

Read the rest here via News Observer