Politicians and Team Owners Snooker Sports Fans and Taxpayers | Ilya Shapiro and Nick Mosvick | Cato Institute: Commentary

Politicians and Team Owners Snooker Sports Fans and Taxpayers | Ilya Shapiro and Nick Mosvick | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Dennis Coates and Brad Humphreys performed an exhaustive study of sports franchises in 37 cities between 1969 and 1996 and found no measurable impact on per-capita income. The only statistically significant effects were negative ones because revenue gains were overshadowed by opportunity costs that politicians inevitably ignore.

An older study looked at 12 stadium areas between 1958 and 1987 and found that professional sports don't drive economic growth. A shorter-term study looked at job growth in 46 cities from 1990 to 1994 and found that cities with major league teams grew more slowly."

"the majority of attending fans come from within a 20-mile radius, such that money they spend would otherwise have gone to another form of local entertainment or recreation. In that light, publicly subsidized stadiums are at best zero-sum endeavors — a shift of resources called the "substitution effect." "

"55% of the gains from subsidies to pro sports teams go to players and 45% to owners"