ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT QUARTERLY / August 2001Nelson / AJOR LEAGUE STADIA LOCATIONS FORUM Prosperity or Blight? A Question of Major League Stadia Locations

Literature challenges the economic wisdom of major league sports stadia, especially when subsidized, but they continue to be constructed. If officials decide that a new sta-dium will be built, does it matter where it goes? This article theorizes that when major league stadia locate in the central business district (CBD), the metropolitan statistical area’s share of regional wealth increases and that share rises as more major league teams play there. The reason is that people attending games in the CBD are more likely to spend money before and after games in the CBD than if they attend games at non-CBD locations. By contrast, non-CBD stadia may create opportunity costs. The moat of parking that surrounds many such stadia may discourage development from locat-ing nearby. Investments that could have generated more economic activity are diverted, sometimes outside the metropolitan area. Empirical evaluation supports the-oretical expectations. Many business and political leaders believe that major league sports are a critical element of a com-munity’s economic and social (if not political) vitality. From the beginning of modern major league sports more than 100 years ago, many cities considered themselves inferior to those that boasted major league teams. The past 20 years have seen the culture of major league sports turn against the very cities that sowed the seeds to make such sports what they are today. Nowadays, major leagu