Beyond “who pays?”: stadium development and urban governance

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to reframe analyses of stadium and arena subsidization policies from perspectives centered upon economic and financial issues toward a perspective focused on broader issues of urban governance and the public purposes of sports facilities. Such assessments would provide a better understanding of whether such use of public resources represents good public policy.Design/methodology/approachTo demonstrate this, the paper uses an integrated literature review to offer a historical analysis of sport facility development within the context of the broader assumptions that shape public policy and how sports have been used toward achieving particular public goals. This history provides a foundation for an analysis of sports facility development within the current moment as cities require team owners to invest in redevelopment activities in the neighborhoods surrounding sports facilities.FindingsThis paper asserts that focusing on the economic and financial aspects of sports facility development is a perspective that is too narrow. Instead, this paper shows that a more holistic approach, beginning with the dominant mode of urban governance and how its assumptions underlie the public purposes for which stadiums and arenas are used, provides a better explanatory framework and a deeper understanding of the issue in the contemporary moment.Originality/valueMoving beyond the question of economic efficacy, the public purpose-centered approach of this paper seeks to place subsidization policies into a broader dialog with other priorities toward maximizing the public good among the broadest population.

Research on Promoting the Micro-Governance of Sports in China’s Urban Communities under the Concept of Common Construction, Common Governance and Sharing

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Identifying the Spatial Patterns and Influencing Factors of Leisure and Tourism in Xi’an Based on Point of Interest (POI) Data

“…Leisure research focuses on public entertainment and park management, highlighting the government's public service function with a welfarism orientation, while tourism research tends to have a commercial orientation [11]. Research on urban leisure space mainly focuses on a particular type of public urban leisure space, such as parks [16], green spaces [17], sports and recreation sites [18], cultural venues [19], and coastal areas [20]. Most of the literature focuses on the planning and management of urban leisure space [21], public access to recreational spaces [22], health perceptions [23], and service experiences [24].…”