When Publicly Funded Stadiums Gut Neighborhoods

Stadium construction often depends on public funds and a good dose of city pride. "And yet the consensus among economists says that the public rarely profits from these massive investments, despite persistent claims by politicians and heads of chambers of commerce that stadiums and their ilk generate economic growth."

Atlanta's history of public investment in stadiums calls their "benefits" into question. "In Atlanta, four stadiums––two for baseball and two for football––have [...] actually contributed significantly to the de-development of what were once thriving middle and working class Black communities."

Lacking political visibility, communities around planned stadiums find it difficult to oppose the projects. The Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, for example, was "paid for with parks and recreation tax dollars and built on land taken from owners through a federal urban renewal program. Construction of the Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium wiped out an entire neighborhood [...]"

When a new stadium appears, the surrounding neighborhood can become mere support structure. "Even after construction was completed, many people were displaced as landlords found it more profitable to evict families, tear down houses, and operate ad hoc parking lots where homes used to be. And once construction jobs dried up what was left were low-paying service industry jobs."