Analyst Says Economic Benefit of L.A. Stadium Would Be Minimal

"Speaking to a state Senate panel reviewing the plan by developer Anschutz Entertainment Group, policy analyst Mark Whitaker warned that football stadiums typically have a minimal effect on a region's economic growth, largely because they become a magnet for household entertainment dollars that were already being spent elsewhere in the area.

In many cases, families that have bought tickets to events at the Home Depot Center in Carson, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and other local venues would probably shift those same dollars to the proposed Farmers Field in downtown Los Angeles, said Whitaker, who works in the Legislative Analyst's Office.

'This wouldn't be the case with all events.... There's no NFL team in L.A. right now, so that would be new economic activity,' he said."

A written report on the project predicts "minimal" economic returns to the city and region.