Public funds are often used to lure pro sports teams to a city or to prevent one from relocating. These enticements include building or renovating stadiums and making improvements to surrounding infrastructure. Team owners often threaten to relocate their teams in order to secure taxpayer assistance for improvements to stadiums and arenas. Between 2000 and 2022, about 121 stadiums were either built or renovated at an average cost of $330 million. Since the early 1960s, 91 sports stadiums have been built or replaced with public funding, and 22 of them were fully paid for with taxpayer funds. Sometimes, local officials seize land through eminent domain and donate it to sports franchises. Some cities pay their team's property taxes as well as the costs of street construction, security, traffic control and parking. Studies have shown the public receives few, if any, economic benefit from the construction of new stadiums. The average cost to replace a sports stadium is upwards of $1 billion to over $3 billion. Critics say taxpayer funds should not be used on building stadiums for wealthy sports franchises when communities have more important needs.

Pending Legislation: H.R.2434 - No Tax Subsidies for Stadiums Act of 2025
Sponsor: Rep. Glen Grothman (WI)
Status: House Committee on Ways and Means
Chair: Rep. Jason Smith (MO)