Companies, sports teams, all manner of people been playing city mayors for decades. Whether is Walmart, Amazon or a major car maker, they tell all the cities, we want to build a plant, distribution center, whatever and have cities compete to give them all kinds of tax abatements, land, etc just to land it.
The mayor and city council lie about the number of jobs it will bring to the city and what always ends up is the company basically stays there for free or d@mn near free and just when any lease is up it threatens to leave unless renewed at an even better deal. And eventually they lay off people, in jobs where the deal is they can't unionize. And move the jobs overseas eventually.
Pro football and the NBA have been effing over cities for decades. American cities don't feel like they are a top tier city without a pro franchise. Number one at the top of the list is an NFL franchise. Only 30 cities can get one and they compete for what they think is the 'clout' chasing of having one. These owners are businessmen and the mayors with no real back ground in economics and business almost always gets taken to the cleaners with what they have to give up and like Baltimore with the Colts and St. Louis with the Rams as well as several others these teams eventually eff them over.
And in all these the taxpayers have paid for it all. Hundreds of millions into the billions.