Question

Should the public through bonds and/or taxes finance stadium and arenas? Why or Why not?

Answer 1

No, public money should not be used to finance stadiums and arenas. The reason is that most of the stadiums and arenas are too expensive and in most of the cases the investments in them are not fruitful as it may take years to write off their costs and by that time the stadium would start wearing off and require additional costs for repairs. It also becomes excludable as only professionals are entitled to use these stadiums and it isn't as if all the people who have paid for them can go and use them or get value in return for their contributions. The opportunity cost in this case is also too high as the same amount of money can be put in construction of schools that provide utility to a larger section of the society. It can also be used in construction of infrastructure facilities such as roads. That will help the people as well as provide employment opportunities during the construction. The government should try to encourage sportsmanship by using other means such as providing scholarship or financial support to those exceptionally good in sports rather than spending money on construction of stadiums and srenas.