"Oceania was at war with Eastasia. Oceania had always been at war with Eastasia.”

Is the Moda Center Renovation a Good Public Investment? #economics #portland buff.ly/dvVLRMY

Is the Moda Center Renovation a Good Public Investment? #economics #portland buff.ly/dvVLRMY

LOL

It's somewhat unsurprising that people whose lives revolve around rooting for sports teams also zealously support proposals that give them taxpayer dollars. But trying to rationalize it as good public policy, rather than your personal preference, is going too far.

It blows my mind how many people fall for the "but the City owns it" trope in stadium debates. This isn't a mean landlord extorting a tenant over the condition of an apartment. Public ownership is a legal arrangement intended for the benefit of the team-tenant.

Dundon continues to fail, because there is no compelling case to make for what is indefensible public policy. The Blazers probably won't leave, because there's nowhere better to go. And even if the team leaves, Portland will continue to be awesome and be richer.

Yes, I live in Georgia. I also research the public financing of sports venues. I have an informed opinion on the subject, thus it is appropriate for me to comment on any community considering taxpayer subsidies. If you don't like that...

It means that neither of the expansion proposals on the table are serious. To call them half-baked is to overrate them. It was silly to think that the NHL would go for these plans.

If Dundon thought the Blazers needed a better arena, then he should have bid less for the team. Then he'd have enough funds to renovate/build his own arena. It's not the job of taxpayers to subsidize his private business.

Hello, from the World Cup.

This always reminds me of this gem of a headline. www.bridgedetroit.com/detroit-city...

Important point: Handing out special tax breaks (not having to put $1 in the treasury) is equivalent to paying out a direct subsidy (take $1 from the treasury), and should be accounted for as such, even though they are more complicated to understand. Don't reward obfuscation.

The A's stadium was originally pitched as a $1.5 billion stadium. The cost has since risen to at least $2 billion, which is a 33% cost overrun. How can work on the stadium be described as "remains on budget"?

Poll for Atlanta area folks. I'm organizing a downtown-ish (in the city) bookstore event for This One Will Be Different. Are you likely to attend? Please click "like" if so. Trying to gauge interest to choose a location.

There is absolutely no risk of lost tax revenue and jobs, because sports venues are well known not to generate them.

Calling me obtuse for not committing the broken window fallacy when evaluating the economics of stadiums is like yelling at a mark on the street for refusing to play three-card monte with the guy set up around the corner.

Folks over on the other site are not taking this well. For example, I seem to have upset a shock jock named Squidbilly, who believes I'm deserving of ridicule. ... I deserve better critics.

Hey, don't sleep on the Pacers.

Confident laymen who fancy themselves to be enlightened policy pundits, without bothering to become acquainted with actual research on the topic, do tremendous damage. You can see why bogus commissioned "studies" work. It's easy to fool people who want to be fooled.

Exactly. The Massive college stadiums all over The US are evidence you don't need a new shiny stadium every 30 years. The SEC has stadiums, many approaching 100 years old that have been added to & renovated over the years. The sport and viewership is as strong as ever.

Looking through some old photos, I found pictures of the time I threw out the first pitch before a AA Charlotte O's game in 1979 at Crockett Park (burned down a few years later). The catcher was Dave Huppert, and the game featured Cal Ripken, Jr., Tim Raines, Sr, and Tim Wallach.

The last Nashville mayor insisted it would cost more than $1 billion to renovate Nissan stadium. This was obviously a straight-up lie, yet local leaders and The Tennessean willingly swallowed it to justify building the Titans a new stadium. Negligence comes with good seats.

Imagine that. Georgia Tech is renovating Bobby Dodd stadium for a measly $70 million. It's over 100-years old and keeps going. The Atlanta Falcons play the same sport a few miles away, and the the team is on its third stadium since 1966.

The movie industry only exists in Georgia because of *massive* taxpayer subsidies, which generates a net fiscal loss to state taxpayers. The movie industry has been in decline the state for several years. Perhaps there are reasons to oppose the merger, but this ain't it.

Good take here. And I make an unexpected appearance: "You’ll know you’ve done a good job if JC Bradbury yells at you."

Cleveland's pro sports stadiums continue not to pay for themselves. Three decades later, and government officials are still searching for ways to cover their financial losses.

Why do taxpayers of Vancouver have any responsibility to "save" an MLS subsidiary business? The MLS chose to add the Whitecaps to play in this venue. If Garber doesn't like that, that's on him and the investor-operator, not local citizens.

TFW you commit the literal broken window fallacy.

Seems like a real man of the people, certainly worthy of a $600 million subsidy from Portland/Oregon taxpayers.

Bomb-pop on at The Brewhouse. #USMNT

Do people not understand how time works? Folks, the MLB labor deal doesn't expire for 6 months, plus the offseason. At this stage, all proposals are cheap talk. They're mostly trial balloons to gauge public sentiment and what talking points the media will credulously repeat.

BC Place is hosting Canada in the World Cup, but isn't a viable stadium for the Whitecaps? Give me a break.

Chicago Fire's "Privately Financed" Stadium #economics #stadiums #subsidies #MLS #chicagofire buff.ly/wgLOUmY

And there it is... That's the sound of the other shoe dropping on what has been described, up until now, as a 100% privately financed stadium development. $425 million in public money is a pretty big shoe to top off the owner-funded $750 million stadium.

Bradbury's Dictum: The public cost of a stadium only goes up.

I've created a playlist (2 videos so far), where I will post subsequent videos over the next 2 weeks (hopefully). I plan to keep posting shorts on stadium subsidies (did I mention I wrote a book?) as long as people are interested. @academic.oup.com youtube.com/playlist?lis...

The second installment of my video shorts series on the economics of stadiums is now live. buff.ly/ynGpr1U

Neil deMause is serializing a new book on stadium subsidy schemes. The first installment is up this morning, for free. Become a subscriber to read future chapters, in addition to his already great news coverage and commentary. Really looking forward to this. www.fieldofschemes.com/2026/06/15/2...

Are you in Atlanta for the World Cup? Wandering around downtown wondering if that's the infamous Hooters (it's not), or if *this* Hard Rock Cafe is any good, or maybe Margaritaville is the best option... Ignore the Ferris wheel, and get out of there.

Are you in Marietta, Georgia for the World Cup? Want to know some places to visit? I've got a few recommendations for you. 🧵

The @houstonchronicle.com reviewed some of the 2026 World Cup host cities’ contracts with FIFA. The contracts show that almost all of the costs for organizing the tournament fall on the cities, whose ability to collect revenue is limited. (Published April w/ @texastribune.org)

Number of economists interviewed for this story? ZERO www.kgw.com/article/news...

With the World Cup happening in Atlanta, I'm seeing some misplaced nostalgia for the decision to build Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Folks, it was a colossal boondoggle. When it was demolished in 1997, $11 million were still owed on the bonds.

As part of my effort to spread the word about the inadvisability of stadium subsidies, I'm trying out the popular medium of video shorts. 1/4 in a series: 1. America's stadium addiction 2. Why stadiums aren't economic catalysts 3. Why does this keep happening? 4. How to stop it