POLL: Do you think sports stadiums benefit communities?
Yesterday, 6sqft took a look at a Brookings institute study that showed three New York City sports stadiums–Yankee Stadium (the most expensive of all in the country), Citi Field, and the Barclays Center–have received $867 million in direct and indirect federal subsidies. This resulted in the loss of $3.7 billion in government revenues since 2000, due to “lost tax revenue from issuing exempt bonds and the indirect proceeds high-income bond holders receive.”
Because of this drain, the authors of the study advocate that stadiums should not be eligible to receive tax-exempt bonds, especially since they claim “there is little evidence that stadiums provide even local economic benefits.” But not everyone agrees, likening stadiums to other public enterprises like parks. And, at least as pertains to the stadiums in New York, these venues host other community events aside from ticketed sports games. Which side are you on?
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