Some useful reports for stadium and arena researchers…
Data on full public cost of stadiums and arenas
Sports economists J.C. Bradbury, Dennis Coates, and Brad Humphreys have updated Judith Grant Long’s spreadsheet on the public and private costs of every major-league U.S. sports venue since 1909, providing the most complete answer to the question “How much are taxpayers spending on stadiums and arenas, really?” For more detailed numbers up through around 2010, Long’s book is still available, as are archives of her initial research.
Lease summaries for MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL teams
Compiled by the National Sports Law Institute at Marquette Law School. Only broad overviews are provided, but still the best place to start if you want to see how much a team pays in annual rent, say, or who’s responsible for covering venue operating costs.
Studies of the economic impact of sports teams
There have been innumerable studies attempting to measure what effect sports teams and venues have on local economies, but some of the key ones include:
- J.C. Bradbury, Dennis Coates, and Brad Humphreys’ 2023 meta-study finding that existing research shows sports stadiums don’t generate enough public benefits to make up for their public costs.
- Dennis Coates and Brad Humphreys’ 2000 study finding that when sports teams stop play because of a labor dispute, there’s no measurable impact on cities’ per-capita income.
- Robert Baade, Robert Baumann, and Victor Matheson’s 2006 study finding that sales tax receipts are likewise unaffected when local sports teams shut down.
- Geoffrey Propheter’s 2012 study of cities with NBA arenas, finding that neither the presence of a team nor of a new arena has any impact on personal income in a region.
- Victor Matheson’s 2009 literature review of Super Bowl impact studies, finding the effect of the game to be far less than NFL claims.
Cost estimates of Yankees and Mets stadium deals
Detailed estimates of the public/private costs shares of the New York Yankees and Mets stadiums opening in April 2009, calculated by Neil deMause based on public sources.
Rod Fort’s sports business data
An excellent source of stats on everything from ticket prices to player salaries.
Ballparks.com
Histories and links to articles on every stadium and arena, past, present, and future.