Tag: Public Funding

Research Highlights Lack of Benefit from Public Funding of Sports Stadiums

The Center Square

A recent academic paper on the economics of sports stadiums again has highlighted how publicly funding professional sports stadiums does not provide the benefits promised by politicians.

The paper highlights how building entertainment districts surrounding stadiums has not changed that formula and alternative tax funding mechanisms – like those planned to be used in Nashville to fund a new $2.1 billion Titans stadium – only serve to obscure the fact so much is public funding is being used.

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Council Member Says Economist’s Free Report Was More Valuable than Paid VSG Report

Laura Baigert

At the Thursday evening meeting of the East Bank Stadium Committee, a council member praised an economist’s presentation about public investment in sports stadiums as more valuable than the paid report the council approved a company to do.

Professor of Economics, Finance and Quantitative Analysis at Kennesaw State University, J.C. Bradbury, delivered an information-dense presentation in rapid-fire fashion to the East Bank Stadium Committee (EBSC), of which Council Member Delishia Porterfield (District 29) was highly complimentary and appreciative, especially in comparison to the Vision Stadium Group (VSG) report that had a cost of at least $250,000.

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Boyle Proposes Public Financing of Pennsylvania Legislative Campaigns

Bradley Vasoli

Pennsylvania State Rep. Kevin Boyle (D-Philadelphia) this week announced to colleagues his proposal for public funding of some state-legislative campaigns.

The measure would require a candidate to have raised at least $10,000 from “small-dollar donors,” meaning those who have contributed between $1 and $200. State Rep. Boyle would allocate payments to hopefuls amounting to six times the total small-dollar contributions they’ve amassed.

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Governor Bill Lee’s Financial Proposal for a New Titans Stadium Includes Very Few Details

Aaron Gulbransen

Governor Bill Lee’s office made a presentation to the Tennessee House Finance, Ways, and Means Committee on his $500 billion bond proposal for a new Titans stadium that included several generalizations with very few details.

Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration Butch Eley, who functions as Lee’s chief financial officer, made the presentation on Tuesday.

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Nashville Mayor John Cooper’s Office Leaves the Door Open for Taxpayer Funding of New Titans Stadium

Aaron Gulbransen

Nashville Mayor John Cooper’s office left the door open on the issue of utilizing taxpayer funding for a new Titans stadium to replace Metro Nashville-owned Nissan Stadium in a comment issued to The Tennessee Star.

“The Mayor’s Office continues to work closely with Titans leadership to find a responsible stadium solution. The Titans are important to Nashville and we know that being here is important to the Titans. Planning is still very much underway, and we do not have new details to share at this time.”

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The Tennessee Titans Want a New Stadium, But How the Team Plans to Pay for It Is Unclear

Aaron Gulbransen

The Tennessee Titans want a new stadium, switching gears from modernizing Nissan Stadium to making plans to build a new one in the lot next door. It is currently unclear how the team plans to raise the money to pay for it.

the Titans’ president, Burke Nihill, talked about the team’s goals for a new stadium at a March 10, 2022 Metro Nashville Sports Authority Finance Committee meeting. The Titans are reportedly working with Metro Nashville officials on the design and costs for a new stadium which would be located in the parking lots outside the current Nissan Stadium.

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Former Nashville Mayor Phil Bredesen Admitted in 1997 That Direct Economic Impact Benefits Couldn’t Justify Taxpayer Funding for a Football Stadium

Aaron Gulbransen

Former Nashville Mayor Phil Bredesen admitted in 1997 that direct economic impact benefits couldn’t justify taxpayer funding for a football stadium.

The then-Mayor Bredesen said in June of 1997, “I can’t justify building a football stadium on direct economic impact. The professors who make a living pooh-poohing that are right. But there are a lot of intangible benefits that make it more than easy to do.”

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