Question

Public sports arenas built at taxpayers' expense are a good investment for the city because they?

1) result in lower admission prices
2) add jobs
3) have declined in number of construction starts over the past 20 years because of the extremely high costs
4) none of the above

Answer 1

Research by experts indicates that while sports stadiums may create jobs, they can lead to redistribution of entertainment spending with a lower economic multiplier, potentially not growing the local economy as expected.

Step-by-step explanation:

The belief that public sports arenas built at taxpayers' expense are a good investment for the city primarily hing-es on the expectation that they add jobs and stimulate local economic growth by attracting professional sports teams. However, the work of James Joyner, John Siegfried, and Andrew Zimbalist suggests that while sports stadiums may create jobs, they may not always be the economic boon that cities expect. Their research indicates that within household budgets, people have a fixed amount to spend on entertainment. Thus, spending on professional sports may come at the expense of other local entertainment options. Moreover, the economic multiplier for professional sports is typically lower than for other forms of local entertainment, potentially leading to a reallocation of entertainment spending that does not grow the local economy.