Three seasons in, Hartford's $71M ballpark has sparked new energy but not promised development

Column from March of this year, but interesting read in Hartford Business Journal

We need the Land Disposition and Development Agreement to prevent this exact thing from happening here in Worcester.  

Interesting quote from Zimablist


Andrew Zimbalist is an economics professor at Smith College in Northampton, Mass., who authored ”Sports, Jobs & Taxes: The Economic Impact of Sports Teams and Stadiums.” Zimbalist says that once communities commit to a stadium, they effectively divert money and other vital resources that could be used to improve school curricula or fix roads, among other public services.

Also, land on which a public ballpark sits no longer generates tax revenue to a city, further impinging its finances, he said.

When asked about Hartford's DoNo ambitions tied to the ballpark, Zimbalist said, “It doesn't look very encouraging to me.''

 Andrew Zimbalist, Economics Professor, Smith College