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The public cost of Minor League Baseball stadium subsidies

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  • John Charles Bradbury

Abstract

Public financing of major league sports venues has been widely studied, but government support for minor league facilities has not been systematically documented. This study introduces a new database of Minor League Baseball stadium funding to measure the prevalence and magnitude of subsidies. State and local governments have spent $7 billion constructing and renovating 134 minor league ballparks for Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliates, raising important policy implications for moderately sized municipalities. Using MLB's reorganization of its minor leagues as a natural experiment, the analysis finds no income differences between cities that lost or retained teams, undermining the economic rationale for taxpayer subsidization.

Suggested Citation

  • John Charles Bradbury, 2026. "The public cost of Minor League Baseball stadium subsidies," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 64(3), pages 1079-1096, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ecinqu:v:64:y:2026:i:3:p:1079-1096
    DOI: 10.1111/ecin.70055
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