Argumentative Essay On The Benefits Of Stadiums

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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…

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

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