ABSTRACT
Sports remain a very clear indicator of economic development to this day. Studies investigating national success at international sporting events such as the Olympics and World Cup suggest that economic factors play clear roles. Construction costs alone for major league professional sports facilities have totaled in excess of $30 billion in nominal terms over the past two decades, with over half of the cost being paid by the public. Baade noted that geographic considerations were not the only factor in the construction of new sports facilities. Economy-wide fluctuations during the last century clearly influenced sports facility construction. Even tax increment financing or ticket taxes or surcharges are not without their critics, as few other businesses are allowed to use taxes collected on their customers to pay for their own capital expenditures. The nature of professional sports is that the athletes generally command as wages a large share of revenues generated by sporting events.
