Public Shakedown

$24 billion 

Yup, billion with a letter B.  

That is the amount of money spent on stadiums — professional, amateur and college — by state and local governments since 1990.  It is a staggering figure for sure and does the expenditure pay-off in the end?   

Some have suggested that the economics are thin soup.   Employment opportunities are mostly part-time, seasonal or temporary work.  Moreover, local spending—which might otherwise find its way into local pubs, restaurants, bowling alleys, and cinemas—ends-up in the pockets of millionaire athletes and billionaire owners. 

Read the Atlantic’s startlingly cerebral analysis here.