Learn MoreFrom informational blog: stadiumfacts.org:
Our concerns include:
Public expenditure of at least $287,000,000 in cash, property, and other assets. This equals to a per resident cost of over $2,500.
Less than 10% facility utilization: The stadium will be empty most days, earning no money for the city.
No Comparison Shopping The City's own consultants, Keyser Marston Associates, concluded in their report that a hypothetical office building would generate 5 times the fiscal benefits to Santa Clara, while requiring no subsidy from the taxpayers.
Little, if any, direct return on investment Most economists and studies that have addressed this issue and most cities who have funded sports stadiums agree that there is little benefit and often adverse financial impacts in underwriting new stadiums.
Other resources:
Website by the authors of the book Field of Schemes: How the Great Stadium Swindle Turns Public Money into Private Profit: http://www.fieldofschemes.com/
MSU Sports Stadium expert Phillip Miller discusses private benefits of public stadium financing: http://www.mnsu.edu/news/read/?paper=topstories&id=old-1111079448
Sports Stadium Madness: Why It Started, How to Stop It (summary): http://www.heartland.org/Article.cfm?artId=9474
U. S. Congressional Testimony of Neil deMause on Taxpayer-financed Stadiums, March 29, 2007 (pdf): http://domesticpolicy.oversight.house.gov/documents/20070329144749-35526.pdf
Long-term Economic Impacts of Stadiums and Sports Teams A Summary of Robert Baade's Work by Janice Houston: http://www.imakenews.com/cppa/e_article000623460.cfm?x=b11,0,w
"A Citizen's Perspective: Should the San Francisco 49ers and the City of Santa Clara Collaborate on the Building of a New Sports Stadium?" by Erlinda Anne Estrada, M.L.I.S., presentation to City Council, May 22, 2007: http://www.ci.santa-clara.ca.us/pdf/collateral/49ers-20070522-Public-Presentations.pdf