Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers recently stood on a mobile stage set up at the home base of the Milwaukee Brewers baseball stadium and called the professional baseball team an “integral part” of the state’s “culture and identity” and “economic success.” He praised it.
Then Evers, with much fanfare, signed $500 million in public aid to renovate the stadium, sparking an astonishing string of such mega-deals. This year alone, approximately a dozen Major League Baseball and National Football League franchises have begun efforts to build new or improved stadiums.
A new wave of sports facility construction is underway. One is to keep up with rivals, and the other is that despite economists’ skepticism that the stadium will boost the local economy, it will cost taxpayers billions of dollars in total losses. may result in
The Brewers primarily cited the need for repairs, but many other new projects go far beyond that. In some cases, sports teams are seeking new public funding for state-of-the-art stadiums even as the entity is still paying off debt from the last renovations decades ago. Even.
“These facilities aren’t physically obsolete. It’s not like concrete is going to fall and put people in serious danger if they go to a game,” said Robert, a former economics professor at Lake Forest College in Illinois. Bou Bade said.
“Teams want new stadiums because it’s in their economic interest to do so,” Baade said, adding: “The new stadium model extends beyond the stadium walls.”
The power of peer pressure
New and improved stadiums offer new revenue opportunities for team owners, especially those that control nearby areas, from luxury suites, dining, shopping, and other developments.
For many, the model is Stan Kroenke, owner of the Los Angeles Rams. His $5 billion football stadium opened in 2020 as the centerpiece of a sprawling development with apartments, offices, retail, parks and theaters.
But the difference is that Kroenke is privately financing the project after kicking the Rams out of a publicly funded stadium in St. Louis.
In August, the Kansas City Royals announced two options for a new $1 billion baseball stadium as part of an overall $2 billion development. The Tampa Bay Rays followed suit in September, announcing plans for a $1.3 billion baseball stadium with housing, retail, restaurants and bars, and a Black History Museum as the centerpiece of a $6.5 billion development in St. Petersburg, Florida. Announced.
They join the Jacksonville Jaguars, Buffalo Bills and Tennessee Titans, all of whom have announced plans or begun construction on new multibillion-dollar football stadiums with luxurious amenities.
All of these projects were also publicly financed, including $760 million in municipal bonds approved by the Nashville City Council and $500 million in state bonds to pay for the Titans’ $2.1 billion new stadium. As part of the deal, the Titans agreed to pay off the remaining $30 million in public debt owed for their current stadium, which opened in 1999.
When the Baltimore Ravens announced a $430 million publicly funded renovation this month, the football team’s senior vice president of stadium operations said the facility was “already considered by many to be among the finest.” ” But “we always have to stay on the cutting edge and stay attractive,” says Rich Tamayo.
This trend is not limited to baseball and soccer.
On Dec. 12, Oklahoma City voters approved a 1-cent sales tax on the Thunder basketball team’s new arena, which will cost at least $900 million. The next day, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin announced a 20-year plan to attract basketball’s Washington Wizards and hockey’s Washington Capitals to a new arena surrounded by performing arts centers, hotels, convention centers, housing and retail. announced a $1 billion development plan.
The new cycle of stadium construction has “significantly increased the level of luxury,” and is expected to peak around 2030, said J.C. Bradbury, an economics professor at Georgia’s Kennesaw State University who tracks the project. He said that
Fear that the team will leave
Underlying plans to build a new stadium is the assumption that teams could head elsewhere if they don’t get the results they want, with MLB last month approving the move of the Oakland Athletics from California to Las Vegas. This highlights a rare but realistic possibility.
The team’s new $1.5 billion baseball stadium in Nevada is being supported with $380 million in public funds. The facility will be built not far from the home of the $2 billion Las Vegas Raiders soccer team, which opened in 2020 with $750 million in public funds from the hotel occupancy tax. is.
The Raiders and Athletics previously shared the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, which was renovated at taxpayer expense in the 1990s to lure the Raiders back from Los Angeles. The remaining $13.5 million in public debt from the renovations is scheduled to be repaid by February 2025, by which time both teams could be gone.
Ken Rettberg, a longtime A’s fan, is unhappy with both the team’s impending departure and the large amount of public aid that benefits wealthy team owners.
“It’s crazy… how can they get away with donating taxpayer money? It’s completely unreasonable,” said Rettberg, a software engineer who lives near Oakland.
Wisconsin officials feared the Brewers could also walk away, taking home the tax money.
“Losing this team would have had a ripple effect on families and communities across this state,” Evers said on Dec. 5, while approving public aid for Brewers Stadium. He said the team generates billions of dollars in annual economic impact and supports thousands of jobs.
Mark Attanasio, the Brewers’ principal owner, said there were inquiries from other cities, but “we never considered going to another city.” Records show the Brewers spent $575,000 lobbying lawmakers from January to June.
American Family Field, home of the Brewers, opened in 2001 at the peak of the final round of stadium construction nationwide, as cities replaced multipurpose facilities with flashier sports-specific structures. Almost three-quarters of the $392 million cost was covered by public funds.
Wisconsin’s latest stadium contract includes nearly $674 million in renovations, including about $500 million in total funding from the state, counties and cities.
public backlash
After all, not everyone supports stadium renovations, replacement efforts, or the trend of asking taxpayers to foot the bill.
The Titans’ new stadium will receive the largest public subsidy for a professional sports facility in the country. But voters rebuked in September, electing a progressive City Council member who voted against the subsidies as mayor.
The Chicago Bears purchased a former suburban racetrack in February as a potential site for a new football stadium and surrounding development, but have not yet moved ahead with a potentially controversial move from downtown. The Illinois Sports Facilities Authority still owes $589 million through 2032 on bonds issued 20 years ago to renovate the Bears’ current stadium.
Many economists argue that putting public money into stadiums is not worth it because sports tend to divert discretionary spending from other forms of entertainment rather than generate new revenue.
“When you ask economists whether we should fund sports stadiums, they can’t immediately say no,” Bradbury said. “But if you ask politicians, they can’t immediately say yes.”
Public opinion seems to be mixed.
A survey conducted last year by the Global Sports Institute at Arizona State University found that 60% of respondents view professional sports teams as a necessary cultural addition to their communities. However, less than half of respondents believe that state and local governments should provide public funding for sports stadiums.
A proposal to build a new Royals stadium near downtown Kansas City has prompted thousands of fans to join a rally on the Facebook site calling for the current stadium to remain. Significant public funding is part of their opposition.
“There’s a perfectly good stadium out there that was recently renovated and we’re still paying for it,” said Jim Meyer, the website’s administrator and Royals fan. He added: “There’s no real reason to replace it.”