Research Note : Contrary Evidence on the Economic Impact of the Super Bowl on the Victorious City

Previous research has indicated a surprising statistically significant impact on the local economy in the city that wins the Super Bowl. An analysis of personal income growth in victorious Super Bowl cities from 1972-2000 cannot further confirm these results, finding no statistically significant effect on the local economies of these cities.

Financing Professional Sports Facilities

This paper examines public financing of professional sports facilities with a focus on both early and recent developments in taxpayer subsidization of spectator sports. The paper explores both the magnitude and the sources of public funding for professional sports facilities.Stadiums, arenas, sports, subsidies

The Paradox of Championships “Be Careful, Sports Fans, What You Wish For"

This paper examines issues related to the economic impact of sports championships on the local economy of host cities. While boosters frequently claim a large positive effect of such championships, a closer examination leads to the conclusion that the impact is likely much smaller than touted and may even be negative.Mega-event; sports; sporting events; impact analysis

SLIPPERY SLOPE ? ASSESSING THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF THE 2002 WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES IN SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH

This paper provides an empirical examination of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah. Our analysis of taxable sales in the counties in which Olympic events took place finds that some sectors such as hotels and restaurants prospered while other retailers such as general merchandisers and department stores suffered. Overall the gains in the hospitality industry are lower than the losses experienced by other sectors in the economy. Given the experience of Utah, potential Olympic hosts should exercise caution before proceeding down the slippery slope of bidding for this event.OLYMPICS, IMPACT ANALYSIS, MEGA-EVENT

The Effect of Sports Franchises on Property Values: The Role of Owners versus Renters

This paper estimates the public benefits to homeowners in cities with NFL franchises by examining housing prices rather than housing rents. In contrast to Carlino and Coulson (2004) we find that the presence of an NFL franchise has no effect on housing prices in a city. Furthermore, we also test whether the presence and size of the subsidy to the team affects values and find that higher subsidies for NFL stadium construction lead to lower house prices. This suggests that the benefits that homeowners receive from the presence of a team are negated by the increased tax burden due to the subsidies paid to the franchises.impact analysis, stadiums, football, mega-event, tourism

The “Death-Effect” on Collectible Prices

It has been widely observed that the price of celebrity memorabilia rises around the time of that person’s death. Previous authors attribute this “death-effect” primarily to expectations on the part of collectors concerning the future supply of collectibles about the public figure as in the case of a durable goods monopolist. Our observations of the sports memorabilia market suggest that the increase in prices is instead due to a “nostalgia effect” as a result of the media attention that surrounds the death of a prominent public figure.

Mega-Sporting Events in Developing Nations : Playing the Way to Prosperity?

Supporters of mega-sporting events such as the World Cup and Olympics claim that these events attract hoards of wealthy visitors and lead to lasting economic benefits for the host regions. For this reason, cities and countries compete vigorously for the right to stage these spectacles. Recently, developing countries have become increasingly vocal in demanding that they get the right to share in the economic benefits of these international games. China, for example, has been awarded the 2008 Summer Olympics, and an African nation seems destined to host the 2010 World Cup. The specialized infrastructure and operating expenses required to host these events, however, can be extremely costly, and it is not at all clear that either the long or short-term benefits of the games are anywhere nearly large enough to cover these costs. This paper reviews other researchersÂ’ as well as our own previous work on mega-sporting events such as the Super Bowl and World Series as well as international events like the World Cup and Olympics. Independent researchers nearly unanimously find that boostersÂ’ projections of the economic impact of sporting events exaggerate the true economic impact of these competitions by a wide margin. In particular, in this paper we focus on the particular circumstances that face developing countries hosting these games. Our research suggests that in most cases mega-sporting events are an even worse investment for developing countries than for industrialized countries.Development Planning and Policy; Sports, Gambling, Recreation, Tourism

The Bottom Line: Accounting for Revenues and Expenditures in Intercollegiate Athletics

This paper examines the profitability of Division I athletic programs at colleges and universities in the United States under a variety of accounting definitions of profit. The data identify several broad themes. First, a majority of athletic departments rely heavily on direct and indirect subsidization of their programs by the student body, the institution itself, and state governments in order to balance their books. Without such funding, less than a third of BCS athletic departments and no non-BCS departments are in the black. Second, athletic programs rely heavily on contributions to balance their books. Donations to athletic departments may serve as a substitute for donations to the rest of the university, lowering giving to other programs. Third, football and men’s basketball programs are generally highly profitable at BCS schools, but below this top tier, fewer than 10% of football programs and 15% of men’s basketball programs show a profit by any reasonable accounting measures.Athletics, higher education, sports

Financing Professional Sports Facilities

This paper examines public financing of professional sports facilities with a focus on both early and recent developments in taxpayer subsidization of spectator sports. The paper explores both the magnitude and the sources of public funding for professional sports facilities.Stadiums, arenas, sports, subsidies

In Search of a Fair Bet in the Lottery

Although state-operated lotto games have the worst average expected payoffs among common games of chance, because the jackpot can accumulate, the maximum expected payoff is potentially unlimited. It is possible, therefore, that lotto can exhibit a positive expected return. This paper examines 18,000 drawings in 34 American lotteries and finds approximately 1 percent of these drawings provided players with a fair bet. If it were possible for a bettor to purchase every possible combination, however, most lotteries commonly experience circumstances where such a purchase would provide a positive return with 11 percent of the drawings providing a fair bet to the player.