A few pertinent references for those interested in the economic research on
using public funds for private sporting facilities:
1. From the Kansas City Federal Reserve-- "What Are the Benefits of Hosting
a Major league Sports Franchise", Rappaport and Wilkerson, Economic Review,
First Quarter 2001 www.kcfrb.org , under publications.
Some quotes included in the intro., "...Few fields of empirical evidence
offer virtual unanimity of findings. Yet, economic work on the economic
impact of stadiums and arenas has uniformly found that there is no
statistically significant positive correlation between sports facility
construction and economic development." (Sigrried and Zimbalist). "...The
overriding conclusion of this discussion [regarding a collection of econ.
essays] is that the economic case for public ally financed stadiums cannot
credibly rest on the benefits to local business, as measured by jobs,
income, and investment." (from 'Sports, Jobs, and Taxes: the Economic Impact
of Sports Teams and Stadiums', Noll and Zimbalist, Brookings Institution
Press, 1997. Also includes good tables of recent stadiums, amounts of
funding, etc.
2. From the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Board-- "Congress Should End the
Economic War Among the States", Burstein and Rolnick, the 1994 Annual Report
Essay; republished in The Region, March 1995. www.minneapolisfed.org .
also from the Mpls. Fed.:
"Congress should end the economic war for sports and other businesses", in
fedgazette editorial, 1-96.
"Cities should stop playing poker with tax dollars", in fedgazette
editorial, 7-95.
"State and local economic development policy a zero-sum game... or worse?",
in fedgazette, 1-93
*Seems 'public subsidies for sports' should be evaluated based upon the
'quality of life' value associated with retaining professional sports in an
area... not based on any economic value added. It's like art--- the beauty
is in the eye of the beholder. Interest-free loans ARE a public subsidy;
and in general, 'tax-exempt' zones of any type will preclude recovering any
public subsidies via the tax streams associated with the investment. If
private investors get equity, why not public investors (and in like manner),
if such public investment is deemed necessary? MH
Michael Hohmann
13th Ward
http://www2.visi.com/mahco
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