The Economic Impact Of Professional Sport Stadiums

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The Economic Impact of Professional Sport Arenas The construction of sport stadiums in the United States has received considerable amounts of scrutiny and praise: considering the argument between positive or negative economic impact on communities brought on by professional sports teams and their playing facilities. With the cost of stadiums reaching the billions, the underlying issue of utilizing taxpayer dollars and public funds to facilitate glamorous arenas is in the limelight. 21st century stadiums are built to: replace outdated ones, meet standards in hopes of joining a national league, and in most cases generate economic activity in the home city. The key reasons of building publicly financed stadiums can vary, although the matter if …show more content…

The first impact that is noticeable is the amount of jobs created through construction and maintenance after the stadium is built followed by consumer spending. When attending sport functions, consumers tend to carry out activities such as eat in restaurants, buy concessions, and pay for parking. These types of activities generate more revenue and economic activity for the local community. Similarly, stadiums have the potential to introduce new development into the area as a result of renewed interest. With inflated economic activity the value of existing property improves in addition to creating sufficient revenue to offset the cost of the subsidy (Woalla). An example of continuous positive economic impact would be that of Indianapolis: consisted of a large sports economy which includes the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis Colts and Indiana Pacers. According to a 2014 study conducted by the Indiana University Public Policy Institute, Central Indiana appraised an annual economic impact of $3.4 billion (Indiana University). Statistics such as this don’t hold true for all or most sport communities which is why economists deem publically financed sports arenas as an ineffective method of generating significant economic growth (Kavoori). Using for others and …show more content…

The plan for Paul Brown Stadium was enacted in 1996; it was to pay for both the Cincinnati Reds and Bengals stadiums. With the threat of the Bengals leaving town, voters in Hamilton County approved an increase in the sales tax that would help construct the stadiums (Belson). In total the cost of the stadium amounted to $330 million, $50 million paid by the Bengals and $40 million by the state of Ohio, that left approximately $250 million to be covered by local taxpayers (Brennan). The county estimated the total cost was actually $454 million (McWhirter and Albergotti).Promises made to entice voters to pay for stadiums have the possibility of being reverted thus causing unforeseen consequences. The voters of Hamilton County were promised a property-tax rollback and more funding for Cincinnati public schools (McWhirter and Albergotti). The sales tax increase created a new tax revenue that was presumed would increase each coming year to be able to cover the debt the county would incur after financing the two stadiums (Ross). the results created: immense debt, cuts on other programs and increased property taxes due to the rollback and all this caused by a stadium whose team has had just two winning seasons. This clearly indicates that new stadiums aren’t an instant revitalizing project that can boost the

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