Introduction In the last 20 years, 80% of professional sports teams have had a new stadium built for them. Of that 80%, many are dissatisfied with their current stadium situation (noll video). History of Public Subsidization When one thinks of sports stadiums today, an image of an immense state of the art facility funded by public money is brought to mind. This stereotype of the typical stadium today has not always been around however. In the early to mid 1900’s, stadiums were privately owned and very modest in appearance. The goal for these stadiums, as quoted in The Playground, was for “stadium use to be as broad as possible”(Qtd. in Coates). Adjusting for inflation, these stadiums would cost on average 15 million dollars in today’s money (Gans). It was not until the 1930’s that the first publicly funded stadium was built. Publicly built stadiums did not become common however until the 50’s. As populations grew, the number of cities that could host a team increased. This caused an upsurge in competition between cities for a team. Some cities began to offer publicly funded stadiums as enticement. Other’s offered land on which a team could build a stadium. These stadiums because of technology development became more expensive than their original counterparts. The above …show more content…
Atlanta Journal Constitution writer Rick Badie says “The focus this new stadium will bring, combined with signs of economic recovery, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to end the cycle of poverty that has paralyzed these communities” (Qtd. in Skaggs). This may be an attractive idea for many. However, it is not as simple as he makes it sound. Although a stadium may have a great impact on its new part of town, it also is naturally redistributing income away from other areas of town. While one part of town gains, another suffers. Therefore, this is not actually beneficial to a