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February 8, 2012
Super Bowl 2012: Are Sports Stadiums Ripping Off Cities?
International Business Times
by Roland Li
Um, yes?
When the New York Giants and New England Patriots battle in Super Bowl XLVI on Sunday, they'll be playing in a stadium that was largely financed by taxpayers.
Don't worry, you didn't miss it. We missed this article.
Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis cost roughly $720 million, with the majority of costs financed by state and city taxes increases. The Indianapolis Colts, valued at $1.06 billion by Forbes, contributed $100 million and pays $250,000 per year in rent.
The stadium was projected by planners to contribute $2.25 billion in economic benefit over ten years and create 4,200 new jobs and 4,900 temporary construction jobs. But there's never been a conclusive study that directly ties the construction of new stadiums to economic growth, and some critics dispute the positive benefits of stadiums, which have collectively received around $20 billion in U.S. subsidies in the last two decades.
...But the most controverial arena has been Forest City Ratner's Barclays Center at Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn. Conceived in the early 2000s, the project received $511 million tax free bonds in 2009, but had to clear lawsuits challenging the use of eminent domain to seize private property. A design by Frank Gehry was later dropped in favor of SHoP to cut costs, and prefabricated steel is being used on residential towers for more savings. The arena is set to open later this year.
Although Kroessler declined to speculate on the potential for tax subsidies for the next generation of stadiums, the trend appears to be continuing throughout the country.
"I don't see any great pushback," said [John Jay College professor Jeffrey] Kroessler.
Posted by eric at February 8, 2012 11:36 AM