In today’s professional sports landscape, it seems as though a new “state-of-the-art” stadium is being constructed for teams every year. Teams want their stadiums to stand out among the competition in an attempt to attract fans, star free-agents, and sponsors. Now, these types of stadiums, like AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, are easily surpassing the billion dollar mark in total cost. AT&T Stadium’s building cost was $1.2 billion (Associated Press, 2013). Many of these massive projects receive a substantial amount of public funding, but skeptics argue that these stadiums actually are not economically beneficial to the public that helped fund them, therefore are not wise investments. One publicly funded stadium that has proven to be a wise …show more content…
investment for its community is Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin, home of the Green Bay Packers. Because of Green Bay’s relatively small size, compared to most of the other cities that have professional teams, Lambeau Field has been more economically impactful to its surrounding community. According to a 2010 study performed by AECOM, who was hired by the Green Bay/Brown County Professional Football Stadium District, Packers home games generated $12.3 million per game in economic impact to the city, and after its recent expansion and updates, that number has risen to $13.5 million (Walker, 2015). That amount of money can have a more positive impact on a small community with a much smaller economy than most major cities with major professional teams. Small businesses, hotels, restaurants, etc. can all receive a significant economic boost from the tourists that visit Green Bay during football season. These are people that probably wouldn’t be there otherwise. Therefore, I think it makes sense for small cities like Green Bay to publicly fund a stadium, but maybe not as much sense for bigger cities to do so. Although stadiums may not make as much of an economic impact as one might assume, there are some intangible benefits stadiums provide for their cities and the people that support them.
For example, the teams that play in these stadiums are usually beloved by the residents of that city and its surrounding areas. These stadiums typically provide a sense of pride to its city’s residents, especially if the team/teams that play in that stadium is/are winning. More than the stadiums themselves, I think the teams that play in these stadiums provide the majority of the intangible benefits. People are so emotionally connected to their hometown teams, that when their teams are winning, there is a sense of excitement, happiness, and energy. Cities with winning teams also attract more national media attention, which can benefit the people of that city. For example, during this year’s World Series, the city of Kansas City experienced the tragic loss of two city firemen that were killed in a massive apartment building fire. This incident received national attention, which led to widespread support for the families of those firemen. It probably would have only been local news if the Royals weren’t in the World Series. In conclusion, although the tangible benefits of publicly funded stadiums may not provide equal monetary returns to the people, the intangible benefits these stadiums provide may be the reason people are willing to pay for them. Stadiums host sports and entertainment events
that people love to watch. In some cities, they are seen as landmarks that represent the city. Among the people, maybe these intangible benefits actually outweigh the tangible ones.
Ultimately, there are three exceptionally important criteria for deciding on good candidate for an expansion team. The first criterion is that the stadium must be controlled or owned by the baseball team. The stadium is a crucial aspect because most of the team’s revenue is generated in relation to the stadium. This stadium revenue comprises of ticket sales, parking, merchandise and concessions. Thus, without a stadium, the team will not be able to generate a stable source of revenue. The second criterion is that local ownership must have strong roots within the community. Without ties to the community, fan attendance could decrease. This is because fans could eventually perceive that the owner(s)’s only goal for the MLB franchise was to be profitable. The third criterion is the city must have long-term political support in the community. It is vital to have political support in order to gain financial support throughout the team’s years of existence, especially in tax payer monies. Particularly, this is significant when the team experiences issues or fights that involve the stadium and the land around the stadium. If there is a lack of political support, the expansion teams will not be able to obtain enough for money for stadium renovations, repairs, or to build new stadiums for the same team within the same city. This circumstance was apparent when the New York Yankees used tax revenue generated by New York City to fund the building of their brand new stadium for the 2009 season. Therefore, expansion committees believe it is necessary to confirm that the prospective cities will have enough political support because this political factor will help stabilize and financially support the prosp...
By giving back to the community through sporting events, it will allow for our community to grow around our sports team. Building our sports up to connect to the community will allow for many opportunities to give back to a community that is willing to help pay and support their sports teams. Whether its donating money from a game to helping kids become more involved with sports, it’s a duty of the sports teams to ensure that the support they are given is put back into the community that stands by
Lacayo, Richard. “Inside the New Dallas Cowboys Stadium.” Time.com. 21 September 2009. Web. 2 December 2009.
In the last decade, almost all the big cities in the United States, and a few small cities as well, have battled with each other for the right to host big league franchises. Cities spend hundreds of millions of dollars to build new stadiums and offer enticements to private franchise owners. Politicians often push for stadiums and other favors to teams despite not having support from neighborhoods and general opposition across the whole city, especially where these high dollar stadiums would be built.
In the heart of downtown Los Angeles nestled within the valley of Chavez Ravine lies Dodger Stadium. Overlooking green valleys and rolling hills with the skyscrapers of the city behind it, Dodger Stadium appears as the epitome of peace in bustling Los Angeles. Few would fathom that beneath this sanctum of the Los Angeles Dodgers resides a village of Mexican Americans. Critics ranging from muralist Judy Baca, to academic writers Tara Yosso and David García, to the people displaced themselves argue that the creation of Dodger Stadium can never be justified because it destroyed a village. The construction of Dodger Stadium served the common good according to the definition given in the International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. The demolition of Palo Verde, La Loma, and Bishop was the fault of the City Housing Authority (CHA), not owner Walter O’Malley who capitalized on Chavez Ravine at the right moment. O’Malley was primarily a businessman who was in charge of the team to make money in order to satisfy thousands of customers while supporting the club’s workers. Finally, the majority of people living in Los Angeles supported the addition of a baseball team which would in turn benefit the city itself.
Financial aspects and profitability of college athletic programs is one of the most important arguments involved in this controversy. A group of people expresses that college athletic programs are over emphasized. The point they show on the first hand, is that athletic programs are too expensive for community colleges and small universities. Besides, statistics prove that financial aspects of college athletic programs are extremely questionable. It is true that maintenance, and facility costs for athletic programs are significantly high in comparison to academic programs. Therefore, Denhart, Villwock, and Vedder argue that athletic programs drag money away from important academics programs and degrade their quality. According to them, median expenditures per athlete in Football Bowl Subdivision were $65,800 in 2006. And it has shown a 15.6 percent median expenditure increase fro...
There is a nationwide trend in which taxpayers are asked to pay for new stadiums these stadiums benefit a single corporation. A sport construction boom has started, these new stadiums cost a minimum of $200 million to build, but usually cost much more. New stadiums have been built, or are underway, in New York, Pittsburgh, Dallas, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Seattle, Tampa, Washington DC, St. Louis, Jacksonville, and Oakland. This competitive trend replaces old stadiums with high tech flashy stadiums used exclusively for one sport. These stadiums are unnecessary, and not cost efficient. Most of the time new stadiums are not used for multi-purposes, they bring in money exclusively for the professional league and not ...
In my 8 or so years of playing football I’ve often heard coaches liken the job of the linemen to that of a soldier fighting in a trench, pushing, attacking, and struggling for every inch of the battlefield that is the line of scrimmage. Of course, the job of a lineman is far less dramatic and glorious than that description makes it out to be, most of our job is just keeping the defense at bay so the quarterback and the rest of the backfield has time to get a play off. Unfortunately for us offensive linemen, the defense has a much larger bag of tricks when it comes to the actual clash, they can grab, pull, or simply spin by while the O-line is relegated mostly to pushing with shoulder and hand. This can make things difficult if, for instance
What is the most popular sport in America? The most popular sport in America would be the rugged game of football. Millions of fans wait in anticipation each year for the season to begin. The truth is the game is a very dangerous sport. It’s rooted with violence and physical aggression. Players are groomed from their youth to get bigger, faster, and stronger. Football is geared toward physical domination, get your opponent before he gets you with tackling, hitting, or by any means necessary, take them out before they take you out. Bones are broken, internal organs rupture, concussions are frequent and occasionally players die. Is the game worth the price? Is a human life worth less than monetary gain or entertainment? The answer
In Major League Baseball, stadiums can affect the game dramatically by the size and by the way the dirt is laid out and how the weather is as well. The baseball teams and players can be affected by this in their major life physically and mentally. Major League Baseball is a prominent organization in our daily life. The game is very important for most people. The game is a lifestyle to people as well. Baseball has changed over the years. For instance, Pete Palmer states, “The way baseball is playing right now is completely different from the past” (Palmer, summary, 2014). A very helping part of baseball are baseball stadiums. For example, ballparks of america says, “... ballparks are amazing, they help us play” (ballparks of america, summary,
The sports industry is a very big business that contributes great amounts to the economy in terms of turnover, taxes and jobs. The sports industry has an economic cycle. So it depends on different parts of the year to hold big events. The benefits to be gained are that local communities as suppliers of services and goods obtain increased business.
...port. As it now stands, they are as good as disenfranchised- a vast number of the taxpaying public who will never set foot inside these stadiums and arenas” (as cited in Jarvie, 2012).
Once again, after a successful season, Shadle Park was defeated by a Big 9 school in the first game of the regional tournament. This reoccurring event has led many to believe that the four year football program puts GSL students at a disadvantage compared to other districts. A junior high school football program would not only increase the competitiveness of the students but also have more important consequences.
Sports are one of the most profitable industries in the world. Everyone wants to get their hands on a piece of the action. Those individuals and industries that spend hundreds of millions of dollars on these sports teams are hoping to make a profit, but it may be an indirect profit. It could be a profit for the sports club, or it could be a promotion for another organization (i.e. Rupert Murdoch, FOX). The economics involved with sports have drastically changed over the last ten years.
Are high school sports beneficial or not for students? I personally believe if a student is in a high school sport they’re forced to prioritize between school and their sport, and at a young age I believe the student would decide to use his time to improve in his sport instead of school. Which in the long run would affect his academics, unless they decide to stay up late and work on their homework to keep up with both school and their sport. But, even like that in time the lack of sleep would catch up to them, and cause them to do even worse in both academics, and sports. High school sports are like the lotto in my opinion, many play but only a few get rewarded for their work. Therefore, high school sports cause more negativity than positivity.