|
Apr 12
2010
|
Where We Stand: San Diego Stadium Impact in ContextPosted by Jason Riggs in Untagged   |
|
Where We Stand: San Diego in Context
by Brigit Stadler
The following is a slightly reductionist version of my undergraduate thesis on the Chargers' search for a new stadium. Using economic and sociological literature along with press releases, newspaper articles, stadium site reports, housing data, team win-loss records and season ticket sales, I compared and contrasted the Chargers' current search with that of the successful acquisition of new stadiums by the Arizona Cardinals and Dallas Cowboys.
Where We've Been: Stadium Acquisition To Date Professional sport franchises (and specifically, the NFL) are essentially a monopoly and so use their status as leverage for new stadium construction. Despite massive support from fans, the Cleveland Browns still moved to Baltimore where the market was more favourable for a new stadium(1).
Economic impact studies commissioned by teams are "inevitably large and unambiguously positive"(2) with multipliers which are difficult to quantify. Former Maryland Governor Parris Glendenning grossly overstated the benefits of what is now M&T Bank Stadium on the surrounding area, stating that it would pull in at least $9 million, far more than was needed to repay the $6.2 million in bonds. In actuality, the best estimates for bond repayment were $5.45 million. Phoenix, as well, "projected an annual increase of $230 million in output for the City of Phoenix(3) in securing Bank One Ballpark, promising that it would be the impetus for downtown redevelopment which has yet to materialize.
Appeals to fan support and community identity are specious at best and downright manipulative at worst1. These are variables which can only be measured secondarily (as I have tried to do through season ticket sales) and so are easily manipulable by business and team leaders.
The Reality: Stadiums and Community Impact
Taxpayers bear much of the burden of stadiums when they are funded publicly(4). Public dollars which could have been spent on infrastructure, schools, etc. are instead funneled into stadium construction and maintenance1, (5). Sports spending is not its own sector of the economy; money which was spent at the game on Sunday could easily have been spent on dinner and movie on Friday night2. Sport competes with other sectors of the leisure economy for consumers' disposable income(6).
Stadiums do more to separate social classes than to integrate them6. With Downtown redevelopment comes the possibility for gentrification.
Where San Diego Fits
The Chargers are focusing all their efforts on acquiring the new stadium site Downtown where economic redevelopment has been going on for years, unlike Minneapolis or Phoenix. For its part, the Centre City Development Corporation is working to include price-restricted, mixed-income, or transitional housing. As of November 2009, 19.5% of units completed, 4.5% of the units proposed and 10.4% of all units fell into one of the above categories(7).
Up until December 12th, the team had promised to finance the stadium entirely through private funds. It is difficult to say how much of the burden of a new stadium the public would bear if it were funded both privately and through tax dollars. One option would be to emulate Arlington, Texas and specify that the City will pay half the cost or up to a certain amount, whichever is less, and that the Chargers and affiliated private entities will pay the other half plus overruns(8) (The Cardinals also stipulated that the City of Glendale would not pay for project overruns(9)). For their part, however, the Chargers are promising that they and the NFL will contribute $250-$300 million(10). Unlike previous sites, the Downtown site would require the least amount of investment in infrastructure (expanding roads/freeways, parking, etc.). A Downtown stadium, along with PetCo Park and the Convention Centre, could bring year-round revenue to the East Village.
Where We're Headed
This is the most difficult part to pin down. The City is currently more receptive to the Downtown site, yet both the City and State are still in the midst of a financial crisis, making City officials and taxpayers alike loath to spending money on a new stadium. For all parties involved -- the City, the Chargers, business leaders, and taxpayers -- honesty about the costs and benefits of the stadium -- economically and socially -- is most necessary. Understanding the impact of past stadiums, strategies which have been successful and which have not, and working toward solutions which most benefit (or least harm) the surrounding areas should be prioritized as stadium talks move forward.
Sources 1. Leone, Katherine C., 1997. ?No Team, No Peace: Franchise Free-Agency in the National Football League.? Columbia Law Review. 97:473-523 2. Coates, Dennis and Brad R. Humphreys, 2003. ?Professional Sports Facilities, Franchises, and Urban Economic Development.? Public Finance and Management. 3:335-357. 3. Collins, Timothy W., 2008. ?Unevenness in urban governance: stadium building and downtown redevelopment in Phoenix, Arizona.? Evnironment and Planning C: Government and Policy. 26:1177-1196. 4. Hall, Matthew T., 2010. ?Public has 54% Stake in Projects, Expert Concludes.? Retrieved February 23, 2010. (http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/jan/28/public-has-54-stake-projects-expert-concludes/) 5. Eckstein, Rick and Kevin Delaney, 2002. ?New Sports Stadiums, Community Self-Esteem, and Community Collective Conscience.? Journal of Sport & Social Issues. 26:235-247. 6. Baade, Robert A. and Richard F. Dye, 1990. ?The Impact of Professional Sports on Metropolitan Area Development.? Growth and Change. Spring:1-14 7. Centre City Development Corporation, 2009. ?List of Projects.? Retrieved November 13, 2009. (http://www.ccdc.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/projects.home) 8. City of Arlington, TX, 2004. ?Frequently Asked Questions About the Dallas Cowboys Complex Development Project.? Retrieved November 18, 2009 (http://www.ci.arlington.tx.us/citysecretary/pdf/110204/110204_faq_english.pdf 9. Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority, 2009. ?University of Phoenix Stadium: Stadium Facts? Retrieved November 4, 2009. (http://www.universityofphoenixstadium.com/index.php?page=stadium_facts§ion=statistics) 10. San Diego Stadium Coalition, 2009. ?The Chargers on Why Public Funding is Necessary.? Retrieved February 23, 2010. (http://sdstadium.org/1285-The-Chargers-On-Why-Public-Funding-is-Necessary.html)
by Brigit Stadler
The following is a slightly reductionist version of my undergraduate thesis on the Chargers' search for a new stadium. Using economic and sociological literature along with press releases, newspaper articles, stadium site reports, housing data, team win-loss records and season ticket sales, I compared and contrasted the Chargers' current search with that of the successful acquisition of new stadiums by the Arizona Cardinals and Dallas Cowboys.
Where We've Been: Stadium Acquisition To Date Professional sport franchises (and specifically, the NFL) are essentially a monopoly and so use their status as leverage for new stadium construction. Despite massive support from fans, the Cleveland Browns still moved to Baltimore where the market was more favourable for a new stadium(1).
Economic impact studies commissioned by teams are "inevitably large and unambiguously positive"(2) with multipliers which are difficult to quantify. Former Maryland Governor Parris Glendenning grossly overstated the benefits of what is now M&T Bank Stadium on the surrounding area, stating that it would pull in at least $9 million, far more than was needed to repay the $6.2 million in bonds. In actuality, the best estimates for bond repayment were $5.45 million. Phoenix, as well, "projected an annual increase of $230 million in output for the City of Phoenix(3) in securing Bank One Ballpark, promising that it would be the impetus for downtown redevelopment which has yet to materialize.
Appeals to fan support and community identity are specious at best and downright manipulative at worst1. These are variables which can only be measured secondarily (as I have tried to do through season ticket sales) and so are easily manipulable by business and team leaders.
The Reality: Stadiums and Community Impact
Taxpayers bear much of the burden of stadiums when they are funded publicly(4). Public dollars which could have been spent on infrastructure, schools, etc. are instead funneled into stadium construction and maintenance1, (5). Sports spending is not its own sector of the economy; money which was spent at the game on Sunday could easily have been spent on dinner and movie on Friday night2. Sport competes with other sectors of the leisure economy for consumers' disposable income(6).
Stadiums do more to separate social classes than to integrate them6. With Downtown redevelopment comes the possibility for gentrification.
Where San Diego Fits
The Chargers are focusing all their efforts on acquiring the new stadium site Downtown where economic redevelopment has been going on for years, unlike Minneapolis or Phoenix. For its part, the Centre City Development Corporation is working to include price-restricted, mixed-income, or transitional housing. As of November 2009, 19.5% of units completed, 4.5% of the units proposed and 10.4% of all units fell into one of the above categories(7).
Up until December 12th, the team had promised to finance the stadium entirely through private funds. It is difficult to say how much of the burden of a new stadium the public would bear if it were funded both privately and through tax dollars. One option would be to emulate Arlington, Texas and specify that the City will pay half the cost or up to a certain amount, whichever is less, and that the Chargers and affiliated private entities will pay the other half plus overruns(8) (The Cardinals also stipulated that the City of Glendale would not pay for project overruns(9)). For their part, however, the Chargers are promising that they and the NFL will contribute $250-$300 million(10). Unlike previous sites, the Downtown site would require the least amount of investment in infrastructure (expanding roads/freeways, parking, etc.). A Downtown stadium, along with PetCo Park and the Convention Centre, could bring year-round revenue to the East Village.
Where We're Headed
This is the most difficult part to pin down. The City is currently more receptive to the Downtown site, yet both the City and State are still in the midst of a financial crisis, making City officials and taxpayers alike loath to spending money on a new stadium. For all parties involved -- the City, the Chargers, business leaders, and taxpayers -- honesty about the costs and benefits of the stadium -- economically and socially -- is most necessary. Understanding the impact of past stadiums, strategies which have been successful and which have not, and working toward solutions which most benefit (or least harm) the surrounding areas should be prioritized as stadium talks move forward.
Sources 1. Leone, Katherine C., 1997. ?No Team, No Peace: Franchise Free-Agency in the National Football League.? Columbia Law Review. 97:473-523 2. Coates, Dennis and Brad R. Humphreys, 2003. ?Professional Sports Facilities, Franchises, and Urban Economic Development.? Public Finance and Management. 3:335-357. 3. Collins, Timothy W., 2008. ?Unevenness in urban governance: stadium building and downtown redevelopment in Phoenix, Arizona.? Evnironment and Planning C: Government and Policy. 26:1177-1196. 4. Hall, Matthew T., 2010. ?Public has 54% Stake in Projects, Expert Concludes.? Retrieved February 23, 2010. (http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/jan/28/public-has-54-stake-projects-expert-concludes/) 5. Eckstein, Rick and Kevin Delaney, 2002. ?New Sports Stadiums, Community Self-Esteem, and Community Collective Conscience.? Journal of Sport & Social Issues. 26:235-247. 6. Baade, Robert A. and Richard F. Dye, 1990. ?The Impact of Professional Sports on Metropolitan Area Development.? Growth and Change. Spring:1-14 7. Centre City Development Corporation, 2009. ?List of Projects.? Retrieved November 13, 2009. (http://www.ccdc.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/projects.home) 8. City of Arlington, TX, 2004. ?Frequently Asked Questions About the Dallas Cowboys Complex Development Project.? Retrieved November 18, 2009 (http://www.ci.arlington.tx.us/citysecretary/pdf/110204/110204_faq_english.pdf 9. Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority, 2009. ?University of Phoenix Stadium: Stadium Facts? Retrieved November 4, 2009. (http://www.universityofphoenixstadium.com/index.php?page=stadium_facts§ion=statistics) 10. San Diego Stadium Coalition, 2009. ?The Chargers on Why Public Funding is Necessary.? Retrieved February 23, 2010. (http://sdstadium.org/1285-The-Chargers-On-Why-Public-Funding-is-Necessary.html)