The name of the game is money

Additional expenses that taxpayers invariably pick up to accommodate a new facility--even in those few instances where stadiums/arenas are funded privately--include the cost of additional water and sewage connections, rerouting mass transit systems, and the construction of new streets and highways. To help pay for these high-priced sport palaces, cities have levied additional taxes on hotel rooms, rental cars, alcohol, and cigarettes. Taxpayer-financed upgrading of existing facilities or the construction of new stadiums/arenas augments the value of professional sports teams. Owners are spared the financial costs in whole or part of stadium construction/renovation, while the equity of their holdings (teams) escalates.

To take advantage of the "segmented" ticket market--affluent and corporate consumers on the one hand and average fans on the other-stadiums/arenas constructed over the past quarter-century have built luxury boxes renting for tens of thousands of dollars a season that enrich owners, ranging from an additional $1,500,000 annually in the case of the NFL Cincinnati Bengals to $37,000,000 for the Dallas Cowboys. Money derived from luxury boxes is not shared with other teams, as gate receipts are.

Former Houston Mayor Bob Lanier, who was instrumental in allowing the NFL Oilers to leave his city rather than have taxpayers finance a new stadium to replace the 30-year-old Astrodome, stated that "The average working person is asked to put a tax on their home, or pay sales tax or some other consumer tax to build luxury boxes in which they can not afford to sit." A number of teams with new stadiums require fans to purchase "licenses" for the right to buy season tickets.

Like corporations that move to developing countries in search of lower labor costs and lax environmental laws, professional teams are moving to municipalities that give them what they want, such as St. Louis luring the NFL Rams from Los Angeles, to replace the Cardinals, which they lost to Phoenix. This strategy of relocation has put fans and local politicians in a difficult position: either meet the demands of owners or run the risk of losing the home team, as Cleveland did to Baltimore in the NFL. Pressures to build or refurbish stadiums only will intensify once professional teams begin relocating or expanding to Mexico, Europe, and even Asia. (The NFL already is considering playing at least one regular season game in Mexico.)

Sport sociologist Jay J. Coakley notes that, while club owners and like-minded politicians try to sell voters (most often successfully) on the economic benefits of building state-of-the-art stadiums/arenas, "dozens of studies done by independent economists, both liberal and conservative," do not support this position. The principal argument of stadium advocates is that new facilities create jobs. However, although paying well, construction jobs are short-term, and stadium designers/builders often bring in materials and specialized construction workers from other cities. Positions such as stadium vendor, security guard, and parking lot attendant are seasonal and low-paying. While the franchised restaurants and stores new stadiums typically attract create employment, this may occur at the expense of long-time local establishments that are driven out of business.