There has been an extensive amount of public investment in the construction of municipal sports stadiums in recent years. Cities wishing to either attract or keep a professional sports team are often forced to provide new stadiums as a result of competition with other cities. I argue that the economy as a whole does not benefit from their construction.I have examined this topic and found that investment in new stadiums, results in a smaller multiplier effects since most new stadiums contain larger parking, restaurant, souvenir, and other concession facilities resulting in a decrease in the amount of spillover benefits in the community. Economic studies have found that the local economy receives at best only limited economic benefits from the construction of such stadiums. While a new stadium may provide economic benefits for the city in which it is located, money spent on this type of entertainment at this location would likely have been spent on some other form of entertainment if the stadium were not built. Since the nation as a whole does not benefit from the construction of municipal stadiums, there have been some attempts of federal funding, used to finance stadium construction projects and expenditures. Though federal funding helps subsidize these projects, I feel that federal subsidies should not be provided for projects that do not benefit society as a whole. This would only reflect the interests of certain groups rather than the interests of the entire community such as hotels, restaurant, and other tourist-related industries. I feel that federal funding is an unintelligent way to allocate money, and that it is also irresponsible. Why not use the money to fund programs such as education, welfare or even to our national dept. ...
