How important are sports teams to a cities growth (football, basketball, baseball)

[DanMart]

Are national sports teams a vital part of a cities growth economically, and how important are they to a cities population growth. (answer above in the poll)

If possible name some cities with professional teams that still has plenty of room to grow.

[Frank the Tank]

Psychologically, I think cities believe that if they have a pro sports team that they have also made it to the proverbial "big leagues". I don't think they're necessary, though. In terms of growth prospects, places such as Detroit and St. Louis are looking dire compared to Las Vegas, Austin, and Alburquerque, which have no pro sports teams. It's possible for a well-planned sports stadium to spur development (i.e. Camden Yards area in Baltimore), but that's definitely not a sure thing. Trying to create a neighborhood like Wrigleyville in Chicago is really like trying to catch lightening in a bottle.

[BSL63087]

I personally think that sports teams are very important to cities. This is also coming from a huge sports fan though. Every city I have ever visited has been primarily for sporting events. I live near Louisville, KY just across the river in Southern Indiana and no pro sports is playing somewhat of a big factor in why I'm leaving for the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. I'm tired of the weather too, mainly the cold winters. I'm looking to move on to a bigger and better place with better weather and pro sports teams so in my opinion they play a pretty big factor in a city's growth.

[samyn on the green]

Louisville has Churchill Downs, that is one of the most famous sports venues in the world.

If you really want to sit around and watch ball games they have these boxes called TV's that bring the games right into your home.

Originally Posted by BSL63087

I personally think that sports teams are very important to cities. This is also coming from a huge sports fan though. Every city I have ever visited has been primarily for sporting events. I live near Louisville, KY just across the river in Southern Indiana and no pro sports is playing somewhat of a big factor in why I'm leaving for the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. I'm tired of the weather too, mainly the cold winters. I'm looking to move on to a bigger and better place with better weather and pro sports teams so in my opinion they play a pretty big factor in a city's growth.

[BSL63087]

Originally Posted by samyn on the green

Louisville has Churchill Downs, that is one of the most famous sports venues in the world.

If you really want to sit around and watch ball games they have these boxes called TV's that bring the games right into your home.

I don't care about horse racing. Watching games on TV is fine, but I like to be there in person.

[Phil75230]

Sports are nice to have, but only as an "icing on the cake". Someone already brought up Austin as having no pro sports team. Raleigh-Durham and Charlotte both grew like gangbusters for decades before North Carolina got even ONE professional sports team. Fayetteville-Bentonville, AR is the latest example of a "little city that could" (though not so little any more) that thrived despite being 250 mile from the nearest pro sports team (Kansas City).

[DCNative]

pretty important, I'd say.

Also it depends on how good the team is. The better the team, the more people move to a city. With the possible exception of washington DC (redskins, nationals, wizards - kinda embarrassing)

[Rick Hazeltine]

It depends on the city. Usually, they are mostly important to second-tier cities because the really big cities have a national/world identity outside of sports. Take LA for example. It hasn't had a pro football team in more than a decade and it hasn't hurt one bit, which is why they can't get a team there. The people aren't going to allow the spending of one public penny to build a stadium that will be given away to some billionaire owner, who will want a new one or will move away in 10-15 years. I believe there have been studies that have shown that it doesn't make economic sense for cities to put money into pro franchises because they get so little out of them. There are nearly no jobs other than low-wage positions and those are seasonal.

[unknown stuntman]

I can see sports stadiums revitalizing the core centers, as we have witnessed with places such as Camden Yards in Baltimore and Jacobs Field in Cleveland. But pro sports itself? Not really- in tradition-laden sports regions, I can see the air being sucked out of Boston or Green Bay without the Red Sox or Packers. But I don't think you are honestly going to create an economically vibrant city via professional sports teams if you haven't already. The costs are prohibitive and it is insane for owners to even have the gall to expect the local taxpayer to pick up any cost for a stadium. Why bother? Attend a college, high school, or perhaps even a minor league event if that facet exists in your town. Those sports have far more correlation to the local community than does the big business and prima donnas that makes up the pro sports atmosphere today.

[jco]

I didn't even consider it when we started looking at places to move, but my husband has commented several times that there aren't any major sports teams in NC. If he was initiating the research, I don't think we would have considered a state without a football, baseball, and basketball team!