Kennesaw State University economist J.C. Bradbury has looked at the impact of the new Atlanta Braves
stadium that “was intended to serve as an anchor for further economic
development in the suburban business district of Cumberland that would
ripple throughout the county,” and found that local commercial property
values actually went down
relative to similar properties elsewhere in the Atlanta metro area.
Bradbury theorizes that businesses may not want to locate near all the
traffic congestion of a sports stadium, or be scared off by the tax
surcharges put in place to help fund the $300 million public cost. “This
finding is consistent with the vast literature on the economic impact
of sports venues and events,” concludes Bradbury, which is economistese
for “We told you so, over and over and over again, but you wouldn’t
listen.”
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