Chapin's Stadia Home Page
The Sports Facility Reference List
This list includes academic books, academic articles, commercial
books, and other sports facility related references. The list
will (hopefully) be updated regularly with new sources that I
discover and sources that the Internet community makes me aware
of.
Chapin's Top Ten List of the
most useful books on sports stadia and arenas. Includes a brief
description of each book to point you to those that will be of
most use for your work.
Munsey and Suppes Ballpark
Page The best and most comprehensive resource for current and
future MLB ballparks. The section on future ballparks and the
current situation in the fifteen or so cities that are building
these cathedrals is especially well done. HIGHLY
RECOMMENDED.
As a Ph.D. student in Urban Planning I am very interested in
issues surrounding the financing, economic development effects,
and, in particular the location of sports facilities. The
following pages represent some of the work I have done on the
subject while in school. Also, feel free to take a look at my Curriculum Vitae (or CV as its known in the
"business").
The Dissertation
Section My current interest in
sports facilities centers on their effects on the neighborhood
surrounding these facilities. Most new facilities are being built
in downtown areas that have long been experiencing declines in
population, investment, retail options, and employment activity.
These new facilities leverage their public investment based upon
a promise of metropolitan economic benefits AND neighborhood
level redevelopment effects. It is upon the latter that I am
focusing my Dissertation. Entitled "Urban Revitalization
Tools: An Assessment of Impacts of Sports Stadia at the Microarea
Level", my dissertation is looking at the parcel-level
effects of these facilities in four select cities; Baltimore,
Cleveland, Denver, and (for a "suburban" comparison)
Arlington, Texas. This section includes a copy of my dissertation
proposal, some tables illustrating the magnitude of the sports
facility boom, and, to be added later, some maps and charts of
the results of my ongoing work.
Sports
Facility Location as an Economic Development Strategy This is
an abridged version of a paper I presented at the 1997 Pacific
Northwest Regional Economic Conference in Spokane last May.
The paper compares the development history and logic behind the
new arenas in Seattle, Portland, and Vancouver. The paper was
well-received, so take a look!
Why Study Stadia? Why are stadia
issues important? In this brief piece I argue that very little is
known concerning the location, financing, and economic
development potential of new sports facilities. There is a great
deal of myth surrounding these issues. In this piece I
note the increase in the amount of (mostly public) money being
spent on stadia, as well as an increase in the number of stadia
that have been built in the past decade.
The Kingdome History The King County
Multipurpose Stadium (or Kingdome) is the home of
Seattle's Major League Baseball and National Football League
franchises. Despite these teams interesting histories, their
stories pale in comparison to that surrounding the financing and
location of the Kingdome. Find out how Seattle's elites financed
and constructed a new stadium, at almost 75% over budget, despite
expressed wishes of the voters of King County. An interesting
story indeed!
The Proposed New Century Ballpark
History Seattle's proposed New Century Ballpark has an
equally intriguing history behind it's approval and financing.
Read how Seattlelites again voted down a stadium proposal, yet
this new stadium has been financed and construction will begin in
1996. The Seattle Mariners new home will be a baseball only,
retractable roof, natural grass ballpark. Likely to be located
downtown next to the Kingdome, the stadium will continue the
popular urban ballpark model that can be seen in Baltimore,
Cleveland, and Denver today.
Some Thoughts on the Location of Sports
Facilities This piece introduces the reader to some of the
important literature surrounding the location of stadia. It also
explores some of the issues surrounding this topic that I feel
need to be researched. Specifically, what factors might be
important to stadia location? Is there an optimal stadium
site and, if so, how can we determine it? How should we begin to
research stadia location?
Ongoing Research into Sports
Facilities This is a brief listing of some of the current
research projects I am working on concerning sports facilities.
Some of these papers were presented at the International
Symposium on Sport in the City held at the University of Memphis
in November, 1996.
Journals and
Magazines with Stadia Related Information
Team Marketing
Report, Inc. An organization that specializes in profiling
the professional sports industry. TMR provides a wealth of
information to individuals, corporations, and professional sports
personnel on the economics of professional team sports. They sell
a number of comprehensive reports on the structure of team
sports, facility lease agreements, advertising trends and naming
rights deals for major league sports facilities. A recommended
site!!
PanStadia
International The PanStadia International Quarterly Report is
The "definitive journal for the Sports Facility
Industry Worldwide". This site offers the table of contents
for current and past issues as well as two complete articles from
recent issues. PanStadia also offers a free e-mail service for
one article of interest to the site visitor. An excellent site
and an even better professional journal.
Financial World
Magazine Each year since 1991 Financial World has analyzed
the values of franchises in the NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL. These
studies illustrate the importance of these facilities to the
finances of sports franchises.
Engineering News Record ENR
is an excellent magazine on the construction industry. They often
have updates or studies of recent sports-related projects. An
excellent source for building construction students or
practitioners interested in how these monuments are actually
built.
The
Regional Renaissance Initiative The Allegheny Institute for
Public Policy (in the Pittsburgh area) bills itself as "The
Nations First Conservative Think Tank Devoted to Local
Issues". They have put together a page that questions and
critiques the argument for public spending on a sports stadium in
Pittsburgh. A scathing critique (representative of the argument
against public funding of sports facilities), this page offers
readers a long list of articles and information arguing against
the proposed public funding of a new baseball stadium in that
city. A MUST SEE! (by the way the initiative failed badly!)
The Question
of Financing Sports Stadiums. Economists Robert Baade and
Alan Sanderson assess the Chicago Bears demands for a new sports
facility from an economic perspective. This piece summarizes the
"anti-stadium" argument very nicely and provides an
excellent introduction to the work of Professor Baade, a noted
researcher of sports facility financing in North America.
Other
Heartland Institute Policy Studies. The Heartland Institute
is a public policy research group that has undertaken a number of
fascinating studies related to sports franchise relocation and
sports facility development. A recent set of policy studies is
directly related to stadium subsidies by the public sector. In
particular, the input of public officials
from Cleveland, Houston, and Maryland and the input of experts from academia
are of interest. These policy studies provide excellent Real
World examples of the intricacies of stadium development.
Sports Architecture
Firms
The HOK SPORT
Home Page. HOK Sport is the pre-eminent architectural firm in
stadia design throughout the world. Their projects include Camden
Yards in Baltimore (in my opinion the best baseball place
in the world), Coors Field (Denver), and Comiskey Park (Chicago).
The HNTB Corporation Sports
Architecture Firm Home Page. HNTB is another large
architectural and engineering firm involved in the design and
construction of sports facilities like stadia and arenas.
NBBJ Architecture Firm Home
Page . NBBJ is another "big player" in the stadium
design and development game. Their projects include the new
baseball stadiums in Seattle and Milwaukee and the new football
stadium in Cincinnati.
NEW!! San Diego Ballpark Project
(THE VOTE IS IN NOVEMBER!)
San Diego Padres
Ballpark Home Page The team's site on the proposed new
Ballpark. A site that presents the "pro-stadium"
argument very nicely. An EXCELLENT site for researching and
seeing the full range of the pro-stadium forces.
San
Diego Union Tribune (Newspaper) Ballpark Page A site with
archives of recent stories on the stadium and that provides a bit
more balanced approach to San Diego's Ballpark debate.
Seattle Projects
First and
Goal/Seattle Seahawks Stadium Group First and Goal is the
group overseeing the construction of a new football stadium
and exhibition center at the southern end of Seattle's
Central Business District. This project, to cost upwards of
$425 million, will be financed by a combination of public and
private funds. See the sight for details.
Washington State Public
Stadium Authority Home Page. The public authority
overseeing the construction of the new $425 million
football/soccer stadium has this home page. A site that
details the project history (though now with the intrigue
that really surrounded the project), shows the construction
calendar, and had many other project details (financing,
EIS's, etc.)
The Washington State
Major League Baseball Stadium Public Facilities District.
The public authority overseeing the construction of the
$350(?) million baseball-only stadium maintains this page.
Again, many detaisl of the project are included on the site
(but I have yet to find any mention of the projected total
cost anywhere on the site!).
Broward
County Arena Page (The National Car Rental Center). Suburban
Broward County has lured the NHL's Panthers from downtown Miami
with the promise of a new $200 million arena that they do not
have to share with the NBA's Heat. The Sun-Sentinel takes look at
the arena and details the history of this project.
Conseco Fieldhouse
Home Page (Indianapolis). Opening in 1999, this arena will
house the NBA's Pacers in a facility to replace the venerable
(but economically obsolete) Market Square Arena. A facility that
"combines old time ambience [sic] with modern
amenities" (Camden Yards anyone?), The Con will contain 69
luxury boxes, 2,400 club seats, and other features to insure that
the Pacers can pay the skyrocketing salaries of the NBA.
Canal
Park in Akron, Ohio. Opening the summer of 1998, Canal Park
is a minor league version of a major league model: the stadium as
downtown redevelopment tool. A beautiful new facility located in
downtown Akron, this stadium is deemed by the local Beacon
Journal, "the heart of downtown, the soul of a city".
An exceptional example of the "pro-stadium" argument in
minor league form.
The San
Bernadino Stadium Home Page . A page devoted to the new
baseball stadium being constructed in San Bernadino, California.
The new facility will be home to the San Bernadino Stampede
baseball club. This page is maintained by the construction
manager of the stadium project, Bob Matich.
The
Durham Bulls Stadium Home Page . A very nice page discussing
the financing and development of the Durham Bulls baseball
stadium in Durham, North Carolina. Also included are several
pictures of the ballpark.
Anti-Stadium Pages
USFANS (United Sports Fans
of America). While not exactly an "anti-stadium"
group, USFANS "is a powerful, proactive, national
association of sports fans aimed at improving the quality of
spectator sports in America." This group is attempting to
become an advocacy group for fans of professional team sports,
including pushing for lowering the costs of these sports for
fans.
COST: Citizens
Opposed to Stadium Taxes. A group whose single goal is
"the seperation of Sports and State". This group is
fighting a new baseball stadium in San Diego. They have
researched their subject well, leveraging a great deal of
evidence against the view that suggests that stadiums make
"economic sense" for cities.
Field
of Schemes. A web site that accompanies the nice book of the
same name (published by Common Courage Press) by journalists
Joanna Cagan and Neil deMause. The book and the web site discuss
the public financing of sports facilities and the rationale (or
lack thereof) behind this common scenario. Included is a "Sports
Swindle Ticker" that keeps the web community up to date
on the most recent sports projects.
Stadium
Issues by GAGME. GAGME (Grassroots Against
Government-Mandated Entertainment) is a Minnesota based group
fighting the new St. Paul arena and any plans for a new
baseball/football stadium in Minneapolis.
The
Institute for Local Self Reliance (ILSR) Stadium Page. ILSR
"is a nonprofit research and educational organization that
provides technical assistance and information on environmentally
sound economic development strategies." They too are
tracking public money spent on sports facilities while crusading
for saving this money or spending it elsewhere.
The
Seattle Staydium Home Page. William Ayers has developed an
informative and nicely presented home page discussing the
"saga" of the city of Seattle's new baseball only
ballpark. Another Must See.
Damian's
World Stadium Home Page. This page provides information on
English Football (Soccer) stadiums with very nice pictures.
The
Amsterdam Arena Page Two Ajax Amsterdam fans introduce
visitors to the old and new sports stadia in that Dutch city. A
guided tour of the new Amsterdam Arena is provided in both Dutch
and English.
Other Useful Stadia
Related Links
Stadium Seating
Information . This page has a comprehensive listing of stadia
and arenas throughout the United. Provided are seating charts and
other information on each facility.
The
Yahoo Stadium Directory . This is your one-stop shopping
source for home pages having to with stadiums and arenas.
Updated September 1, 1999
Comments? Send E-mail to tchapin@garnet.acsn.fsu.edu