Diamondbacks looking to leave Chase Field citing lack of funds for Stadium Improvement due from Maricopa County (Glendale: live, cost)

[phoenixmike11]

More interesting articles about stadium financing and local sports issues-


Rogue Columnist: Stanton's dilemma

Phoenix mayor to announce again just how groovy a new Suns-Coyotes arena would be | Field of Schemes

Forbes Welcome
forbes lists the most unhappy sports cities (yes, phoenix makes the list)

Phoenix mayor explains grooviness of using taxes for Suns-Coyotes arena: It’s cheaper than two arenas! | Field of Schemes

[gravooms]

Are pro sports teams economic winners for cities?
"Economists say the biggest reason sports teams don’t have much impact is that they don’t tend to spur new spending. Most people have a limited entertainment budget, so the dollars they are spending when they go to a game is money they would have spent elsewhere, maybe even at a restaurant or small businesses where more money would have stayed in the community."

Sports, Jobs, & Taxes: Are New Stadiums Worth the Cost?
"A new sports facility has an extremely small (perhaps even negative) effect on overall economic activity and employment. No recent facility appears to have earned anything approaching a reasonable return on investment. No recent facility has been self-financing in terms of its impact on net tax revenues. Regardless of whether the unit of analysis is a local neighborhood, a city, or an entire metropolitan area, the economic benefits of sports facilities are de minimus.

As noted, a stadium can spur economic growth if sports is a significant export industry—that is, if it attracts outsiders to buy the local product and if it results in the sale of certain rights (broadcasting, product licensing) to national firms. But, in reality, sports has little effect on regional net exports.

Sports facilities attract neither tourists nor new industry. Probably the most successful export facility is Oriole Park, where about a third of the crowd at every game comes from outside the Baltimore area. (Baltimore's baseball exports are enhanced because it is 40 miles from the nation's capital, which has no major league baseball team.) Even so, the net gain to Baltimore's economy in terms of new jobs and incremental tax revenues is only about $3 million a year—not much of a return on a $200 million investment."

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by stevek64

On an aside, I read an opinion piece once on the topic on why our pro teams overall have low/lower attendance compared to many other cities. Besides the obvious that a good chunk of our population is from somewhere else and often they keep their allegiance to their "home" team, the author brought up the point of our weather being very nice most of the year which keeps people doing more outdoor type things rather than wanting to sit in a stadium watching sports. How much is attributed to this is anyone's guess but I thought it was an interesting point.

It is an interesting point, but I think there are other factors. When the Suns were in the national championship spotlight in the 1990s, it was literally Suns mania here, and their games were always a sellout at what was then America West Arena. So I think a lot of it has to do with how good or lousy the teams are playing. Same could be said for the Diamondbacks in 2001 when they were in the World Series, and for the Cardinals when they went to the Super Bowl in 2009. When teams play like they're winners, the fans will flock to their games.

As far as the weather is concerned, I can perhaps see it being a factor in the late fall, winter, or early spring ... however, who the hell wants to be out & about in the middle of summer when it's easily 110 or higher? NBA usually has its final games when the weather starts to get hot here, and baseball is in full swing during all of the summer. If it were me, I'd much rather sit in a domed air conditioned stadium rooting for my home team in the summer than out hiking with the idiots, getting overheated & dehydrated.

Originally Posted by phoenixmike11

Phoenix mayor explains grooviness of using taxes for Suns-Coyotes arena: It’s cheaper than two arenas! | Field of Schemes

If a new multi purpose Suns/Coyotes facility does materialize, what will happen to the old U.S. Airways Center (or Talking Stick Arena as it's stupidly named now)? I hope it's not left empty to sit & rot, or demolished with a vacant lot or parking lot taking its place.

Originally Posted by gravooms

Sports, Jobs, & Taxes: Are New Stadiums Worth the Cost?
[i]"A new sports facility has an extremely small (perhaps even negative) effect on overall economic activity and employment. No recent facility appears to have earned anything approaching a reasonable return on investment. No recent facility has been self-financing in terms of its impact on net tax revenues. Regardless of whether the unit of analysis is a local neighborhood, a city, or an entire metropolitan area, the economic benefits of sports facilities are de minimus.

Overall, this might be true ... however, when large events like a Super Bowl or all star game are held in a particular city, the city and/or metro region often benefit from the influx of revenue. In the case of the Super Bowl in 2015, Glendale ended up in the red. There were many reasons for this, but one reason was most of the Super Bowl related events took place in downtown Phoenix, even though the game itself was played in Glendale. The metro area as a whole benefitted quite nicely ... not only because of the money, but because a major event like that put both Phoenix & Arizona in a very positive spotlight, which has its own way of spurring tourism & growth.

[JGMotorsport64]

Originally Posted by Valley Native

If a new multi purpose Suns/Coyotes facility does materialize, what will happen to the old U.S. Airways Center (or Talking Stick Arena as it's stupidly named now)? I hope it's not left empty to sit & rot, or demolished with a vacant lot or parking lot taking its place.


.

For awhile they were talking about turning it into a Mixed Use Facility, i.e. Retail, Offices, Apartments, Concert Venue etc. but who knows?

[cjseliga]

Originally Posted by JGMotorsport64

For awhile they were talking about turning it into a Mixed Use Facility, i.e. Retail, Offices, Apartments, Concert Venue etc. but who knows?

Yeah, I heard a possible mall/marketplace. If they did tear it down, which I hope they won't and can convert it into something useful to the downtown, it won't be a vacant lot for long. I could see a high-rise condo place going up there, it's prime real estate.

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by cjseliga

Yeah, I heard a possible mall/marketplace. If they did tear it down, which I hope they won't and can convert it into something useful to the downtown, it won't be a vacant lot for long. I could see a high-rise condo place going up there, it's prime real estate.

A highrise would definitely be better than a parking lot or a vacant lot, but I like the idea of keeping that area focused on entertainment or sports. Chase Field and U.S. Airways Center (I'm NOT going to refer to it as Talking Stick Arena) blend well together. If it has to be torn down, an entertainment type of facility, or a pedestrian mall could easily fit in there. Otherwise, keep the arena open and active for concerts and other events.

[gravooms]

Originally Posted by Valley Native

Overall, this might be true ... however, when large events like a Super Bowl or all star game are held in a particular city, the city and/or metro region often benefit from the influx of revenue. In the case of the Super Bowl in 2015, Glendale ended up in the red. There were many reasons for this, but one reason was most of the Super Bowl related events took place in downtown Phoenix, even though the game itself was played in Glendale. The metro area as a whole benefitted quite nicely ... not only because of the money, but because a major event like that put both Phoenix & Arizona in a very positive spotlight, which has its own way of spurring tourism & growth.

Makes sense. The host city may not do well, but the surrounding area might. Future growth being tied to a Super Bowl game is probably hard to document though. And not everybody sees the Super Bowl (or the NFL) in a favorable light, but you're right, it is a chance to showcase the state…Grand Canyon, Sedona, Sheriff Joe.

For fun I googled "super bowl economic impact" and most of the top hits conclude that overall, Super Bowls have a negative or neutral economic impact. The only purely positive article I saw was written by the head of the Super Bowl committee here in Arizona. Surprise!

[cjseliga]

Originally Posted by gravooms

For fun I googled "super bowl economic impact" and most of the top hits conclude that overall, Super Bowls have a negative or neutral economic impact. The only purely positive article I saw was written by the head of the Super Bowl committee here in Arizona. Surprise!

With a bunch of new stadiums (Atlanta, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, possibly San Diego) and renovated stadiums (Miami) opening in the not too distance future, it's probably going to get harder and harder to compete and land those Super Bowls, but I guess once every 10 years, wouldn't be too bad for the Valley of Sun. At least Arizona will always have the weather in their favor, unless a freak winter storm blows in during the 1st weekend of February, and people wouldn't be able to golf!

[BIG CATS]

Originally Posted by cjseliga

With a bunch of new stadiums (Atlanta, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, possibly San Diego) and renovated stadiums (Miami) opening in the not too distance future, it's probably going to get harder and harder to compete and land those Super Bowls, but I guess once every 10 years, wouldn't be too bad for the Valley of Sun. At least Arizona will always have the weather in their favor, unless a freak winter storm blows in during the 1st weekend of February, and people wouldn't be able to golf!

Both Super Bowl's here have had crap weather, and oh boy, you should've heard the golfers/tourists complaining last winter during the Phoenix Open.

[observer53]

Originally Posted by BIG CATS

Both Super Bowl's here have had crap weather, and oh boy, you should've heard the golfers/tourists complaining last winter during the Phoenix Open.

There have been three SB here, just for the record. The first one (SB XXX) had great weather. Good thing, since it was at Sun Devil Stadium.