This paper reviews the empirical literature assessing the effects of subsidies for professional sports franchises and facilities. The evidence reveals a great deal of consistency among economists doing research in this area. That evidence is that sports subsidies cannot be justified on the...

This paper explores the impact of professional sports teams and stadiums on the wages of individuals employed in several narrowly defined occupational groups in cities in the United States. The occupational groups examined are among those that proponents of public funding of professional sports...

A growing literature examines the relationship between the on-field success of sports teams and prices of securities traded on stock exchanges. While much of the literature focuses on the effect of national teams on aggregate stock price measures, for example the relationship between the...

Cities compete for the opportunity to host events that draw large crowds of visitors. The argument is that these visitors bring with them lots of spending in hotels and restaurants, providing jobs for workers in the service industry, and generating sales tax revenues for the city. In many...

Abstract This paper looks for evidence that either a NASCAR track or NASCAR-sanctioned event influences the monthly rents on residential units. Data cover individual housing units in more than 140 SMSAs over the period spanning from 1993 until 2005. During this period, several new tracks opened,...

This paper estimates the total sales and sales tax revenue impacts on host communities of a variety of professional and collegiate sporting events. Using 126 jurisdictions from Texas, covering every month from January, 1990 through April of 2006, the analysis finds that regular season games in...

This paper uses data on players drafted in 1987 through 1989 covering both their collegiate and their professional careers. This time period is chosen because we wanted recent players whose playing days have ended. Our analysis evaluates the role of college productivity on draft position and the...

This paper examines the relationship between hosting mega-events such as the Super Bowl, Olympics, and World Cup and rental housing prices in host cities. If mega-events are amenities for local residents, then rental housing prices can serve as a proxy for estimating residents’ willingness to...

This paper analyzes the net impacts of college football games on the sales tax revenues and taxable sales of four mid-sized cities in Texas. The paper addresses the question in the title, but also asks whether state policy makers might be justified in encouraging schools in their state to play...

Surveys of patrons of the 2011 Baltimore Grand Prix provide evidence of the economic impact of the event that is vastly smaller than the projections by the events promoter, Baltimore Racing Development. Our best estimate of the gross spending impact of the event is about $25 million, while the...