Losing A Team Can Tear The Heart Out Of A Community, But At What Price?

BusinessSportsMoneyLosing A Team Can Tear The Heart Out Of A Community, But At What Price?ByBarry M. Bloom,Senior Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Boomskie on BaseballFollow AuthorMay 27, 2026, 05:26pm EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.Petco Park opened in San Diego in 2004 at the cost of $450 million after much negotiation between the franchise, city and members of the community. (Photo by Matt Thomas/San Diego Padres/Getty Images)Getty ImagesHaving covered ballpark, stadium and arena construction in the U.S. since the 1990s, I can’t argue with the economists. From a pragmatic viewpoint, there’s little doubt these structures aren’t worth the investment of public dollars.It’s much more psychological than that. Each community has to decide whether hosting professional sports is a wise investment of their taxes.“To be clear, the issue is not that public funding should never be used to build stadiums,” long-time economist and college professor Andrew Zimbalist said. “It’s that the public never had a choice in funding the project. Usually, the population in the U.S. is given a choice. Either we put up this billion dollars or the teams leave.”And make no mistake the teams will leave. There’s always another suitor out there for a new home if a town doesn’t want to pony up the money. It happened to the NFL’s Chargers when voters in San Diego proper resoundingly sided against a referendum to build a new football stadium. They moved to Los Angeles instead.When the city government in Oakland couldn’t agree with the A’s to build a new ballpark, Las Vegas stepped into the breach. If Tampa’s politicos decide the price tag is too high to keep the Rays, they will have their choice of Orlando, Nashville, Salt Lake City, or Montreal and no shortage of relocation options.There never is. The number of franchises in each of the U.S. major professional...