Sports cannot be without sports stadiums. Not only do they serve as a gathering place for sports fans everywhere, but they can also be a major economic center for a city. That said, like everything in a post-pandemic world, many sports stadiums have fallen into serious trouble.
The main problem is ballooning costs.
In recent years waves of new stadium construction have come at the cost of the public, due to local governments using taxpayer money to support these massive projects. According to AP News, the Nashville Titans stadium received $760 million in local bonds and $500 million in state bonds for their newest stadium.
Other teams have started campaigning with the government for public fund assistance for their stadiums, including The Cleveland Browns, the Chicago White Sox, and the Chicago Bears. In December, Utah lawmakers considered a bill that would allocate $900 million in taxpayer dollars for an MLB stadium in its capital city.
2023 also saw several high-cost stadium billion-dollar projects unveiled, including the Tampa Bay Rays $1.3 billion baseball stadium, where the city and county are hoped to cover over $730 million, according to Fortune.
Rob Baade, a retired economics professor at Lake Forest College in Illinois, told AP News his opinion on the new rush to build new stadiums across the country, stating that it was in the sports teams’ “best interest to do so.”
“These facilities are not physically obsolete. It’s not as if the concrete is falling down and people are in grave danger if they attend a game,” said Baade. “Teams are clamoring for new stadiums because it’s in their economic interest to do so,” Baade said, adding, “The new stadium model is one that spills over the stadium walls.”
As stated before, many lawmakers see sports stadiums as a great way to boost the local economy. Alongside sports games, sports stadiums draw in other events like concerts, fairs, and attendees that will spend money in local establishments.
Unsurprisingly, the public reception is mixed. Considering the amount of money sports teams seem to generate by themselves, many question the need for taxpayers to fund these projects, especially considering other ways it could be spent, in public transit or public school funding. Additionally, these new stadiums could threaten the local communities that have called the area around them home for decades.
“Where are our state’s priorities? The stadium is great, but the school lunch bill has to get vetoed? We don’t quite understand that,” said Alexander Marks, director of strategy of the Nevada State Education Association.
Sports stadiums are not going anywhere anytime soon, but as opposition to these projects grows, perhaps lawmakers should investigate other sustainable ways of gaining funds or whether these new stadiums are even necessary.
