Public finance of professional athletic facilities: Case studies in stadium and arena finance

摘要

During the course of the 1990s cities across the country opted to expend public monies at record levels on stadium and arena construction. The focus of this paper will be an examination of whether or not spending public money on private athletic facilities is justifiable. For the purpose of this paper “justifiable” will mean; that the overall economic benefit to the community can be clearly and quantifiably demonstrate to have a net positive economic impact on the community while benefiting all socio-economic elements of the community at large. The types of facilities that this paper will examine are arenas and stadiums. For the purposes of this paper an arena will be defined as an enclosed structure with a seating capacity of less than twenty five thousand seats. A stadium is either an open, closed or a retractable roofed facility with more than twenty five thousand seats.