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Striking Out? The Economic Impact of Major League Baseball Work Stoppages on Host Communities

Author

Listed:
  • Victor Matheson

    (Department of Economics, College of the Holy Cross)

  • Robert Baade

    (Department of Economics and Business, Lake Forest College)

Abstract

Major League Baseball teams have used the lure of economic riches as an incentive for cities to construct new stadiums at considerable public expense. Estimates of the economic impact of a MLB on host communities have typically been in the vicinity of $300 million. Our analysis suggest these numbers are wildly inflated. Using the baseball strikes of 1981, 1994, and 1995 as test cases, we find the net economic impact for a MLB team on a host city of $16.2 million under one model and $132.3 million under a second model.

Suggested Citation

  • Victor Matheson & Robert Baade, 2005. "Striking Out? The Economic Impact of Major League Baseball Work Stoppages on Host Communities," Working Papers 0507, College of the Holy Cross, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hcx:wpaper:0507
    as

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    File URL: https://hcapps.holycross.edu/hcs/RePEc/hcx/HC0507-Matheson-Baade_Strikes.pdf
    File Function: Original version presented to Williams College Economics Department in September 2002.
    Download Restriction: no
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. John J. Siegfried & Andrew Zimbalist, 2000. "The Economics of Sports Facilities and Their Communities," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 14(3), pages 95-114, Summer.
    2. Dennis Coates & Brad R. Humphreys, 1999. "The growth effects of sport franchises, stadia, and arenas," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 18(4), pages 601-624.
    3. Robert Baade & Victor Matheson, 1999. "An assessment of the economic impact of the american football championship, the Superbowl, on host communities," IASE Conference Papers 9903, International Association of Sports Economists.
    4. Robert A. Baade & Victor A. Matheson, 2001. "Home Run or Wild Pitch?," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 2(4), pages 307-327, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Robert A. Baade & Robert Baumann & Victor A. Matheson, 2008. "Selling the Game: Estimating the Economic Impact of Professional Sports through Taxable Sales," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 74(3), pages 794-810, January.
    2. Philip K. Porter & Daniel M. Chin, 2012. "Economic Impact of Sports Events," Chapters, in: Wolfgang Maennig & Andrew Zimbalist (ed.), International Handbook on the Economics of Mega Sporting Events, chapter 15, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    3. Victor Matheson & Kent Grote, 2007. "Gamblers' Love for Variety and Substitution among Lotto Games," Journal of Gambling Business and Economics, University of Buckingham Press, vol. 1(2), pages 85-99, June.
    4. Agha, Nola & Rascher, Daniel, 2013. "When can economic impact be positive? Nine conditions that explain why smaller sports can have bigger impacts," MPRA Paper 48016, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Nola Agha, 2013. "The Economic Impact of Stadiums and Teams," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 14(3), pages 227-252, June.
    6. Robert Baade & Robert Baumann & Victor Matheson, 2006. "The Economic Consequences of Professional Sports Strikes and Lockouts: Revisited," Working Papers 0604, College of the Holy Cross, Department of Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    impact analysis; sports; baseball; strikes; sports economics;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L83 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Sports; Gambling; Restaurants; Recreation; Tourism
    • R53 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Regional Government Analysis - - - Public Facility Location Analysis; Public Investment and Capital Stock

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