Economics

A proposed NBA arena in downtown Sacramento would have an $11.5 billion economic impact, according to a study commissioned by the mayor’s political action committee. The group is designed to make the case for the city’s proposed $258 million subsidy for the arena. Economics professor Dennis Coates was interviewed for an article in The Sacramento Bee about the report. He argued against studies such as the one in Sacramento, saying sports stadiums simply move money from one part of the city to another as consumers spend money on tickets for sporting events rather than other forms of entertainment. “Basically they… Continue Reading Dennis Coates, Economics, in The Sacramento Bee

The Nassau County Legislature unanimously approved a $229 million bid by Forest City Ratner to restore and update the Nassau Coliseum on Monday. Naussau County voters turned down a plan to borrow $400 million to build a new arena two years ago and this deal is intended to save taxpayers the expense of the renovation, but critics wonder if the Coliseum can be successful without the New York Islanders, as the team will move to the Barclays Center after the 2014-15 hockey season. UMBC economics professor Dennis Coates tells The New York Times that he doubts the arena can generate the… Continue Reading Dennis Coates, Economics, in The New York Times and Newsday

The U.S. Olympic Committee is expected to decide on a site to propose for the 2024 Summer Games in September 2015. Under the plans DC 2024 — the group exploring a Washington, D.C. bid — Baltimore-area venues would stage Olympic events and Baltimore would support the games with transit and hotel infrastructure. Critics are asking what benefit this would bring to the city and region, and if the costs could outweigh the revenue. Econimcs professor Dennis Coates told The Baltimore Sun that the Olympics are a financial boon to the International Olympic Committee, but not necessarily to the host cities. “The question… Continue Reading Dennis Coates, Economics, in The Baltimore Sun

As Baltimore anticipates the start of the 2013 Grand Prix, a well-known 2011 economic impact analysis by UMBC economics professor Dennis Coates is again making news. The Press Box Online article “What Is Best Way To Measure Grand Prix’s Economic Impact?” notes that race organizers believe the 2012 Grand Prix generated $42.3 million in economic impact for Baltimore and the 2011 event generated $48 million. Coates, however, contested the 2011 figure in a assessment following that year’s Grand Prix, which indicated the impact was approximately $20 million less than the race organizers claimed. The article notes, “Coates’ argument centered on… Continue Reading Dennis Coates, Economics, on Press Box Online and SB Nation

Towson University’s new Tiger Arena opens tonight. The arena cost $70 million, funded through $20 million in Towson’s reserve funds, combined with bonds paid back through a student fee set aside for construction projects. UMBC economics professor Dennis Coates told the Baltimore Sun that although new arenas generally succeed in increasing the owner’s ability to generate revenue, whether that benefits those who pay for construction is less clear. “It creates a nice buzz,” said Coates, “but otherwise, the impact is spread out.” Coates also commented in a recent Wall Street Journal article on how Brooklyn’s Barclays Center impacts local retailers,… Continue Reading Dennis Coates, Economics, in the Baltimore Sun and Wall Street Journal

Economics professor Scott Farrow is co-author and co-editor, with Richard Zerbe, Jr., of the new book, Principles and Standards for Benefit-Cost Analysis (Edward Elgar Publishing 2013). The book website notes: Benefit–cost analysis informs which policies or programs most benefit society when implemented by governments and institutions around the world. This volume brings together leading researchers and practitioners to recommend strategies and standards to improve the consistency and credibility of such analyses, assisting analysts of all types in achieving a greater uniformity of practice. Reviewer John D. Graham of Indiana University writes, “This book is a superb textbook treatment of benefit-cost… Continue Reading Scott Farrow, Economics, Publishes “Principles and Standards for Benefit-Cost Analysis”

NBC Chicago’s politics blog “The Ward Room” recently posted an opinion piece affirming Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s decision to refuse to provide public money for a $500 million renovation of Wrigley Field. The writer, Edward McClelland, cited research by UMBC economics professor Dennis Coates that found pro sports reduce a city’s per capita income by putting entertainment dollars into the hands of athletes and team owners who live outside the area rather than local businesses around the stadium. Coates wrote, “money paid to players does not circulate as widely or abundantly as it would were it paid to people with less… Continue Reading Dennis Coates, Economics, on NBC Chicago

“How much do the Tampa Bay Rays boost their local economy?” asks the Tampa Bay Times. In arguments for building a new stadium, St. Petersburg mayor Bill Foster estimates the team’s local economic impact at $100 million a year, but experts, including UMBC economics professor Dennis Coates, question the assumption that stadiums have a notable economic benefit to their home cities. Coates explains that when a couple spends $100 for dinner and a movie, much of that money goes to waiters, ticket takers and other local workers and suppliers, who in turn spend their paychecks on rent and food, creating… Continue Reading Dennis Coates, Economics, in the Tampa Bay Times

Following the Ravens’ Super Bowl win, the team will increase ticket prices at M&T Bank Stadium, reports the Baltimore Sun. Season ticket holders will see an average price increase of 10%, plus a $5 parking rate increase. UMBC sports economist Dennis Coates notes, “In the grand scheme of ticket price changes, I’m not sure that a 10 percent is particularly a big one. But it doesn’t make it any easier for the average fan to pay an extra 10 percent. We’re still in a relatively sluggish economy and there are a lot of people whose income hasn’t changed a whole… Continue Reading Dennis Coates, Economics, in the Baltimore Sun

A new Bloomberg Businessweek article sheds light on tax subsidies that benefit college athletic programs, including hundreds of millions in funding for stadium construction and sports departments’ exemptions from taxes on ticket, television and other income generated by their stadiums. UMBC’s Dennis Coates, professor of economics, argues that college sports may not be the best use of tax exemptions. “When one thinks of charity, they don’t think of charity flowing to the head football coach of a big state university.” Questioning municipal  financing for stadiums Coates notes, “Using the borrowing power of the state and tax-exempt interest to build stadiums… Continue Reading Dennis Coates, Economics, in Bloomberg Businessweek

A new Sports On Earth commentary by Patrick Hruby quotes UMBC professor Dennis Coates, economics, in arguing that eliminating “sports welfare” among college and professional sports teams and owners would provide an “easy, overdue fix to the nation’s fiscal woes.” Coates believes more money would be available to indebted cities with professional  teams and stadiums if athletes kept their money in the communities where they play, instead of the southern California or south Florida areas where they often live. “If that same money was spent on a movie, dinner, bowling, the theater, a locally-owned bar, tips for bartenders and waitresses, all… Continue Reading Dennis Coates, Economics, on Sports On Earth and in the Baltimore Sun