A counter view about the project...
Leading sports economist has doubts about Albany soccer stadium proposal:
https://www.timesunion.com/news/arti...ly%20headlines
Andrew Zimbalist, who has made a career pointing out flaws in major sports development projects, questioned how much public investment might actually be required for Albany's proposed soccer stadium.
"Andrew Zimbalist, a Smith College professor and one of the world’s foremost experts on (and skeptics of) sports construction as an engine for urban revitalization, does not share Albany leaders' enthusiasm for the proposed $300 million entertainment hub anchored by a minor league soccer stadium that was introduced to the public last week.
Development of the proposed site, the bleak collection of vacant lots sandwiched between the South Mall Arterial and Broadway, has been sought for years to remedy an obvious eyesore. But if such a major project would bring in jobs and money to the city of Albany is a dicey question, Zimbalist said.
“If the project is planned properly and financed properly and the city’s characteristics are amenable then it can be fiscally neutral or even a modest plus — but that’s usually not the case,” said Zimbalist, who is a professor of economics. “The typical case is that there’s a fiscal loss for the city and it doesn’t create net jobs.”
In a career spanning five decades, Zimbalist has emerged as perhaps the leading critic of municipal attempts to attract major sporting spectacles like the Olympics and World Cup. He has also questioned attempts by cities to rejuvenate disinvested areas by building facilities to attract a professional sports team. Much of his work centers on major league-level development and global events in larger markets.
Plans announced Thursday call for constructing an 8,000-seat soccer stadium in the Liberty Square section of downtown, what has long been called the Parking Lot District for its selection of gravely lots. The nine-acre complex would also feature restaurants, shops and hotels.
Business for Good founders Ed and Lisa Mitzen, plus a group of investors that includes real estate developers Jeff Buell and Chris Spraragen, would own the as-yet-unnamed MLS Next Pro team that would play at least 14 home games a year at the stadium.
Major League Soccer has expressed significant support for the project. “The Capital Region has been on our radar for some time,” said Charles Altchek, the league’s president and an MLS executive vice president. “From a market perspective, we didn’t have to be convinced.”
Backers have said the majority of the construction would be privately financed — though team officials have said they would plan to ask the state to provide some funds.
“You can’t simply say this is going to be largely private finance and then sit around and hope for a private investor to come along,” Zimbalist said. “Usually what they have to do is they grant tax concessions and those concessions or abatements usually end up creating additional fiscal stress on the city.”
Zimbalist also questioned how many new businesses might be lured to the new complex.
“The other thing that often happens is that a business will move from one part of the city into this new complex and it doesn’t actually create any money for the city, it just shifts the locus of where the tax money is coming from,” Zimbalist said. “If that tax revenue is simply replacing tax revenue that comes from elsewhere in the city, there’s no net gain for the city.”
With plans still in the very early stages, it is unclear how much in direct subsidies or tax abatements developers will seek and how much city, county and state leaders will be prepared to spend. State and county subsidies for the construction of the new Buffalo Bills stadium in Orchard Park amount to nearly $1 billion. Minor league soccer is in a different financial universe than an NFL franchise, but Zimbalist said there are reasons to be leery of claims about private financing.
“If a city is willing to give away benefits that are worth millions of dollars and call it privately financed then it is a little bit misleading, or it’s a lot misleading.”
Planners want to have the stadium built by 2026 in order to capitalize on an expected wave of enthusiasm for soccer as the United States, Canada and Mexico host the Wold Cup that year.
Zimbalist believes that ambitious timeline is possible, with some caveats.
Assuming the area does not need extensive remediation and no significant archaeological discoveries are made —the proposed complex’s site is adjacent to the oldest house in Albany —Zimbalist believes that an 8,000-seat stadium can be built by 2026.
“It’s a narrow timeframe, but it’s possible,” he said."
I think what he says make sense, but this is why attracting businesses/companies/attractions not currently in the area is key for developments like this, as they offer something new or different.
I'm also wondering if the private investment may come from a team versus just a single investor, given that the article itself mentions multiple names involved.
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